John Oliver, host of HBO's "Last Week Tonight," has criticized Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's new reality television series, "The Great American Road Trip." The six-episode series, which chronicles Duffy's extensive cross-country trip with his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and their nine children, was released on YouTube after a significant delay and has faced largely negative reviews.
Oliver echoed criticisms that the show's sponsorships from companies overseen by Duffy's department raise conflict of interest concerns. "The only worse answer to ‘Who paid for this?’ than ‘the American taxpayer’ is ‘a bunch of companies I oversee and regulate,’" Oliver stated on his show.
Oliver also focused on a moment from the second episode where Duffy discouraged his 18-year-old daughter, Paloma, from attending Harvard University if accepted. Duffy expressed concern that the Ivy League institution's teachings would conflict with her conservative upbringing, potentially leaving her mind "perverted and contorted."
"Is there anything less relatable than a family whose conflict is, ‘How do I tell my daughter she can’t go to Harvard because we did too good a job raising her?’" Oliver quipped in response to the clip. He further joked that while Harvard graduates might not corrupt a student's mind, they tend to be very talkative about their alma mater.
Duffy, who gained initial public recognition from MTV's "The Real World: Boston," is not the only Trump administration official to launch a YouTube series. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously introduced "The Real Food Show," which aims to simplify healthy cooking. However, CNN reported that ingredients for a recipe featured on Kennedy's show exceeded his stated cost estimate, a claim Kennedy attributed to "Trump Derangement Syndrome."