Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy took off his shoes and tie before climbing the pull-up bar. He completed 10 reps — half as many as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (shoes and tie on) had moments earlier.
The impromptu workout in the middle of terminal 2 on Monday at Reagan National Airport concluded a news conference full of “Make America Healthy Again” talking points.
Travel is a sedentary endeavor, the officials said, and a little movement could make it healthier.
Duffy and Kennedy, the secretary of Health and Human Services, came to the airport to unveil $1 billion in federal funding to improve the passenger experience at airports. As part of a campaign to “Make Travel Family Friendly Again,” airports will be able to submit projects for funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Duffy said “it’s pretty wide open” what the grants could cover, suggesting expansions to play areas for children, more nursing pods for mothers and babies, and workout areas “where people might get some blood flowing doing some pull-ups or some step-ups.”
Monday’s event also highlighted the need for fresh and healthy food at airports, though funding won’t necessarily be directed to that issue.
“This is where healthy diets go to die,” Kennedy said. “The food that’s available at the airport a lot of times tastes very good, but it’s not very good for you. It’s deep-fried food, it’s sugar bombs, it’s ultra-processed food, and all of them are going to leave you sicker than before you ate them.”
Kennedy encouraged airports to offer more options such as Farmer’s Fridge, which fills its vending machines with snacks and meals such as salads, noodle bowls and chia seed pudding. One of the green fridges glowed stage right while Luke Saunders, the founder and CEO of Farmer’s Fridge, watched.
Two MAHA-aligned influencers joined Kennedy, taking took turns at the mic.
Paul Saladino, who advocates diets heavy in animal protein and once appeared to do raw milk shots with Kennedy at the White House, talked about the potential benefits of mini-gyms at the airport. He suggested boxes for step-ups, treadmills for people who “want to walk by their gate,” yoga mats and “maybe some exercise bikes.”
Isabel Brown, who hosts a show for the conservative media outlet Daily Wire, spoke about the need for clean and functional spaces for breastfeeding and pumping.
“This is how government is supposed to work in serving people, where our society needs our help,” Brown said. “I can’t tell you how many times I have found myself in a situation being completely stranded in an airport with no option to safely, or in a clean way, feed my daughter or to pump safely and be out of everybody’s way.”
Kennedy called breast milk “the infant formula that God made,” and said he hoped airports would spend more money on improving facilities for nursing or pumping mothers. Earlier this year, he ordered the Food and Drug Administration to review infant formula ingredients and nutrition.
Duffy kicked off the news conference by addressing his efforts to hire more air traffic controllers and update the country’s “antiquated” air traffic control system, which he expects to complete by 2028 as part of President Donald Trump’s vision for a “golden age in America.”
As the father of nine children, Duffy also encouraged fellow travelers to “offer those parents who are doing the best they can a little grace.”
The Transportation Department has not said how it plans to move forward with a proposed rule that would prohibit airlines from charging a fee for parents to sit next to their kids, a priority of the Biden administration.
As directed by the FAA reauthorization bill, the Biden administration proposed a rule last year that would force airlines to seat parents next to young kids for free. A department dashboard shows that five out of 10 major U.S. airlines have committed to the practice.
Earlier this year, the Transportation Department said on a federal website that it was “considering the potential next steps for this rulemaking” and placed it on a list of long-term actions.
Monday, Duffy said he did not have an update.
“I know that was under review at DOT,” he said. “It’s an issue I’m sensitive to; I want families to be able to sit together. A lot of feedback I get is it’s already happening, but that rule is under review.”
Duffy’s healthy-food ambitions aren’t limited to airports: During an interview with Blaze News last month, he said he would love healthier options when he’s in the air. Without naming specific brands, he bemoaned “the really fattening cookie full of just like butter and sugar and crap” and “that little snack pack of pretzels.”
“Could we do something better?” Duffy asked. “I think airlines should embrace a little MAHA as well. Could you get a healthy choice on the airplane?”
The Department of Transportation has been pushing for a new “Golden Age of Travel,” creating a campaign to bring civility back to air travel. Air travelers have been urged to help others, keep their kids under control, say please and thank you and dress “with respect.”
“I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave all a little better,” Duffy said during a pre-Thanksgiving news conference. “Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come to the airport.”
Some travelers have pushed back on that request, arguing that they don’t plan to dress up just to cram themselves into a small seat and wrestle for space in the overhead bins. Many have posted videos of themselves in PJs and cozy slippers at the airport set to a soundtrack of Duffy’s plea to dress better.
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