The Trump administration's transportation secretary was ridiculed for asking liberals to "clean up" public transportation while aiming to reduce federal spending on mass transit projects across the nation.

"If you're a liberal, Larry, they want you to take public transportation," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said during an interview with Fox News anchor Larry Kudlow. "I'm OK with public transportation, we have a whole department here for it. The problem is that it's dirty," Duffy continued.

"You have criminals. It's homeless shelters. It's insane asylums, and it's a work ground for the criminal element of the city to prey upon the good people," he added, before suggesting liberals should clean the subway trains if they want more people to utilize them.

"If you want people to ride a subway, make it clean! Make it safe," Duffy, who gained popularity following his appearance on "The Real World: Boston," a popular MTV reality show, stated. "It's very simple, but these liberals. I don't know, Larry, maybe you've figured them out. I don't get it. They don't think through this stuff, and they come up with stupid policies."

Duffy, a known climate change denier who began his political career in Wisconsin before shifting to journalism, has criticized New York City's subway system before. After touring a sinkhole in New Jersey, a reporter asked Duffy whether he was concerned that cutting federal funding for public transportation could worsen crime, particularly as transit systems across the U.S. are already in disrepair.

Rather than address the infrastructure concerns, Duffy deflected by falsely blaming New York Governor Kathy Hochul for rising crime, despite crime in the city having fallen 29% since 2019. He added that Hochul should "send law enforcement in, kick out the homeless, [and] get rid of the drugs," according to reporting by NBC News.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration faced a legal setback in its push to slash federal spending on public transportation projects nationwide, especially in New York. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary order blocking the administration from withholding funding or approvals tied to New York's congestion pricing program, which temporarily preserved the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA's) ability to implement tolls and fund urgently needed infrastructure upgrades, CBT News reported.

Social media users also excoriated Duffy for suggesting liberals are responsible for keeping subways clean.

"It is literally Duffy's job to fix all of the things he's complaining about," an X user pointed out.

"Man, if public transportation has all of those problems, then maybe the President should appoint someone to deal with them. Hell, we could even call that person the 'Secretary of Transportation'," another joked.

The Trump administration is continuing efforts to roll back funding for transit and bike projects that were part of former President Joe Biden's green energy initiatives, according to reporting by AP. In March, Duffy's department suspended federal grants for bike lanes, raising alarms for advocates across the nation.

Originally published on Latin Times

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