“Mom,” squeals 17-year-old Paloma.

“You are being recorded,” says 15-year-old Mud.

“Oh,” says mom with a broad grin. After all, this is Rachel Campos Duffy, co-host of Fox and Friends Weekend, who is driving the family to link up with their dad Sean Duffy, whom she met on MTV’s spin-off reality series Road Rules: All Stars. He also happens to be transportation secretary.

It is that sort of road trip: a raucous family vacation through some of the nation’s best-known monuments and tourist stops, all played for knowing laughs and delivered with a dose of family values.

Six episodes of “The Great American Road Trip” drop on YouTube this morning. It is designed to showcase the best of the country in its 250th year.

But you will remember the headlines when it was announced and the truckload of trouble the show’s sponsors triggered. If companies such as Boeing and Toyota were each dishing up a reported $1 million, and the likes of Waymo and Royal Caribbean Group were backing the project, wasn’t there something of a conflict of interest for a man whose job was to regulate them?

None of which bothers Duffy, as he ambles through the episodes, cracking Dad jokes, embarrassing his nine children, and coming off worst in the banter with his wife.

“I’m Rachel Campos Duffy. I have nine kids,” she says by way of introduction, before being cut off by her Cabinet Secretary husband.

“We have nine kids,” he corrects her.

“I had them, though,” she points out, eyes rolling as if to say, “Look at what I’m dealing with here.”

First stop is Philadelphia, which Mom seems to suggest was the birthplace of democracy, something the Greeks may dispute.

Day 1 ends with an exhausted family settling down for bed and preparing for Day 2.

“It’ll be fun,” said Mrs. Duffy. Her slightly unconvincing words suggest she knows what is coming next.

Her Cabinet secretary husband slaps her on the ass, adding: “There you go.”

Morning sees the family meeting several gnarly old actors playing Founding Fathers. Although it turns out the one giving the tedious introduction to the Liberty Bell is, in fact, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Despite his best efforts, comedy gold is never more than a few seconds away. When Duffy goes for a closer look at the chair used by George Washington as he presided over the Constitutional Conference, a weary member of staff pipes up: “Don’t sit in it!”

Episode 2 takes the family to Fort Worth, Texas, so the Cabinet Secretary can fulfill his cowboy fantasies.

But first, though, he has to embarrass his children with some line dancing.

“I think this is a good example for the kids,” says the sort of father who sees a life lesson in cowboy boots and two steps. “The kids know their dad can’t dance, right? 100%. But don’t let fear crush you.”

The fear crushes Lucia, 19, within minutes. When she sees her father wiggle his ass.

“No, Dad, stop,” she says. “I actually can’t …”

The fun only slows when those pesky sponsors pop up. For some dubious work-related reason, Duffy breaks off to visit the site of CRH, which he gushingly describes as “the leading company that provides asphalt, concrete in America.”

It is an awkward interlude, although Secrets is relieved that the sponsors have poured money into it.

We have seen the latest episode of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s cooking show. It is the one where he stands awkwardly in a kitchen watching celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian make an omelet, so we are deeply grateful for the whiff of corruption and the slick production values the sponsorship dollars supplied.

But it does all rather raise the question of who this road trip is for. Will it really encourage a new generation of sightseers to go to a dude ranch in Texas?

Does it matter when the 30-minute episodes are packed with belly laughs?

The main takeaway is that the Duffies have nine extraordinary children, who can be relied on for banter and exasperated eyerolls, and that their parents — both alumni of the Real World, of course — know exactly how to make a reality show.

The only question is: So what are they running for?

The Great American Road Trip will be available to view on YouTube later today.

No, Tom Cotton is not about to lose

Wait, what? How is this even a story? Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is a Republican running in the deep-red state of Arkansas, which Donald Trump won by 30 points just two years ago.

Well, a poll published two weeks ago rather upended expectations. Sure, it was from a progressive campaign firm, 2040 Strategy Group, but a poll showing that Cotton had only a 3-point lead over first-time candidate Hallie Shoffner suddenly put the state in play.

The numbers were enough for our friends at J.L. Partners to take a closer look and run their own poll. They shared the numbers with us yesterday.

The results show that Cotton may be down on Trump’s massive margin, but in fact, he is leading Shoffner by 51% to 35%.

You can read the full story here.

When economists go to war

Secrets loves a good row among academics. And The Economist has a great one, quoting well-lubricated economists on the work of Daron Acemoglu, who won a Nobel Prize in 2024 for his work on how institutions shape prosperity.

“Much of his theoretical work is useful, but he uses his models to inform populist policies that have been tried before and failed,” says one.

The story is behind a paywall. But Acemoglu’s response is not!

“I am not happy about the Economist’s article, which feels like a hit piece. There is also a background to it, which is more troubling (as I will share at some point). I asked them to allow me to respond. I am waiting for their answer. If not in the magazine, I will share my response here,” he posted on X.

Excellent. Secrets will bring the popcorn.

Lunchtime reading

AI triggers a wave of anxiety among the world’s greatest math minds: Mathematicians are one of the first professions to have to grapple with what they will do when AI takes over everything…

‘Who Wins Wars’ Review: Good Men in a Crisis: What lessons can we learn from George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower?

You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, click here.