U.S. treasury secretary’s wife draws heat for bragging about wealth, shaming woman

The wife of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Louise Linton, is facing backlash after criticizing a woman on Instagram as “adorably out of touch.”

On Monday, Linton posted a photo on Instagram showing the newlywed couple getting off a government plane while on a day-trip to Kentucky. In her caption, she mentioned the several designer labels she was wearing, including Tom Ford and Hermes.

https://twitter.com/margarita/status/899806489686179840

The public post received instant criticism by users, who slammed Linton for bragging about her wealth and using a government plane.

But it was Linton’s reply to user Jenni Miller, who had commented “Glad we could pay for your little getaway #deplorable,” that drew the most criticism.

“Cute! Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable!” Linton wrote. “Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol. Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? Either as an individual earner in taxes OR in self sacrifice to your country?”

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Linton, who is an actress and married Mnuchin in June, went on to write: “I’m pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day ‘trip’ than you did. Pretty sure the amount we sacrifice per year is a lot more than you’d be willing to sacrifice if the choice was yours.”

She finished her lengthy response by saying Miller was “adorably out of touch,” and suggesting that she “chill out and watch the new game of thrones.”

The response prompted criticism from social media users, who accused Linton of lacking class.

Linton apologized Tuesday afternoon, as backlash over her comments intensified.

“I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response,” she said in a statement reported by CNN. “It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.”

Miller, a mom of three from Oregon, spoke to The New York Times about her exchange with Linton.

“I think my post was just five or six words, and she had to go on basically a rant about it to make herself look more important and look smarter, better, richer — all those things,” she told the newspaper.

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While much of the criticism surrounding Linton’s Instgram post, which has since been made private, was about the government plane in her photo, Bloomberg reports the couple reimburses the government for transportation costs when Linton accompanies her husband on official business.

This isn’t the first controversy Linton has been caught in. Last year, she apologized amid criticism of a self-published memoir about her time living in Africa, and withdrew the book. Critics said the book was inaccurate, and it was even condemned by the government of Zambia.

— With files from The Associated Press