You know American politics has taken a weird turn when someone refers to a reality series launched by a sitting White House Cabinet secretary and it’s necessary to ask “Which one?”
In May, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy (himself a former Fox News host and reality show participant) announced that he and his family were starring in a controversial reality series, which was sponsored by companies that Duffy’s department oversees and regulates, sparking unavoidable ethical questions.
Two months later, we learned that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., already facing accusations that he has thoroughly disengaged from his day job, was launching a celebrity cooking show.
And though it might seem as if two reality shows launched by sitting Cabinet secretaries are two too many, there’s apparently now a third. Fox News reported:
The Small Business Administration is bringing a celebrity panel to Washington next month to judge five entrepreneurs competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.
“As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, the SBA is celebrating America’s legacy of free enterprise through the Million Dollar Pitch Competition — a historic live event showcasing the essential contributions of America’s small businesses,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler told Fox News Digital.
Although this might seem difficult to believe, the Cabinet agency really is overseeing a reality show competition, along the lines of “Shark Tank,” in which several American small businesses will make pitches to a panel of Trump-aligned celebrities in the hopes of winning an investment.
The show will be hosted by Dean Cain, the conservative actor best known for portraying Superman in a TV show in the mid-1990s.
There will apparently be multiple rounds of the competition, culminating in a live final round on Sept. 18. And while I certainly wish the competitors well, it’s worth appreciating the broader pattern.
Just two weeks into Donald Trump’s second term, Axios published a report noting that the Republican administration’s immigration crackdown included an emphasis on “choreography” and “wardrobe changes.” A White House official conceded at the time that the focus on “the visuals” was deliberate.
The New York Times added that enforcement efforts surrounding the administration’s immigration policies were packaged “like mini reality-TV shows — complete with perp walks and even guest stars.” In the months that followed, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared so preoccupied with camera-ready optics that some started referring to the administration’s “Department of Homeland Publicity.”
That was last year. This year, three Cabinet secretaries have launched reality programs, reinforcing concerns that Trump administration officials look less like an executive branch and more like a theater troupe that’s principally concerned with trying to put on a good show.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
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