Corporations were reportedly asked to fork up as much as $1 million to sponsor Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s forthcoming America-themed road trip reality show, according to leaked documents.
The top $1 million package includes being featured on a stop of Duffy’s Great American Road Trip, plus “branded activations and product showcases at multiple destinations,” according to slides obtained by Politico.
The steep price tag doesn’t appear to have stopped sponsors from hitching their wagons to the show, which is set to be released this summer as part of the American 250th anniversary celebrations.
Top-tier corporations, including Toyota and Boeing, are listed as sponsors of The Great American Road Trip, Inc.m the non-profit of the same name producing the show.
“The Great American Road Trip Inc. is an independent non-profit with three key pillars: 1. To celebrate America’s 250th birthday; 2. To promote travel and tourism and; 3. To bring a focus the transportation, infrastructure and ingenuity that built America over the past 250 years and will build America over the next 250 years,” Tori Barnes, executive director of the group, told The Independent via email when asked about the reported sponsorship packages. “We are supported by partners who share these goals and believe in encouraging Americans to rediscover the people, places, and experiences that define our country.”
The Independent has contacted the Transportation Department, Toyota, and Boeing for comment.
Critics alleged that major corporations with potential business before transit regulators shouldn’t be sponsoring a media project involving the nation’s top transit official.
“One has to wonder whether the decision to prominently feature Toyota in this project is because Toyota paid for a sponsorship or because the secretary actually thinks that promoting Toyota is in the best interest of the American public, American automakers and the people that work for that industry,” Donald Sherman, president of the watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, told NPR.
The group has filed a complaint with the DOT’s inspector general, asking for an investigation into whether Duffy violated federal gift and travel rules.
“Production costs were paid for by the Great American Road Trip Inc., not taxpayers,” Duffy wrote last week on X. “Zero taxpayer dollars were spent on my family…Neither myself nor my family received a salary or production royalties. The five part series will be freely accessible by the public on YouTube.”
Outside of ethics concerns, critics have alleged the sight of Duffy taking a made-for-TV road trip is insensitive, given the ongoing spike in oil prices because of the Trump administration’s decision to wage war on Iran.
“The conflict of interest here is glaring,” The View panelist Ana Navarro said recently. “I don’t know how many Americans, how many average Americans, will be able to go on a road trip when I’m paying $5.99 for a gallon of gas. It just seems that the tone deafness has no limits.”
Trump himself brushed off such Iran-related affordability concerns on Tuesday.
“I don’t think about American financial situation — I don’t think about anybody,” he told reporters. “I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
High-priced corporate donations have flowed to other Trump-related entertainment projects, including the White House ballroom and the upcoming UFC fight at the White House.
