Wife of US Treasury boss slammed over social media stoush
Louise Linton, wife of the US Treasury Secretary, has been embroiled in an online stoush. Photo: Getty
The wife of Donald Trump’s treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin has been forced to apologise after she condescendingly mocked a US housewife who dared criticise the actress’ boastful Instagram post.
Actress Louise Linton faces a sustained backlash for a now-deleted Instagram post touting her wealth and her subsequent reply belittling a commenter.
The online stoush erupted after Scottish-born Ms Linton posted a photo of herself on Instagram emerging from a government plane wearing a white outfit and sunglasses, using the hashtags “#tomford,” “#hermesscarf” and #valentino” to highlight her expensive wardrobe.
She later deleted the post and has since made her Instagram account private.
“Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable,” quipped Instagram user Jenni Miller, identifying herself as a mother of three.
Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton has deleted this Instagram, which contained tagged designers and some interesting comments pic.twitter.com/MvPhPJtRze
— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) August 22, 2017
Ms Miller’s comment echoed former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who labelled Mr Trump’s supporters a “basket of deplorables” during the 2016 election campaign.
Ms Linton shot back at Ms Miller, saying her “life looks cute” and telling her to “have a pleasant evening” and “chill out”.
“Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol,” she said, according to images of the response posted online.
“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? 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 wrote, calling Ms Miller “adorably out of touch”.
Louise Linton, Sec Mnuchin's wife, posts photo that tags Hermes/Tom Ford/Valentino as she leaves Air Force Jet then replies to a critic pic.twitter.com/Uhjc7qBiEA
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 22, 2017
Mr Mnuchin is a former Goldman Sachs executive and Hollywood film financier., while Ms Linton starred in the 2016 move Cabin Fever and has briefly appeared on several TV shows.
He married Ms Linton in a lavish civil ceremony officiated by Vice President Mike Pence in June.
Ms Miller told CNN she found Linton’s original post “incredibly offensive”.
“She went to a state where one in five people lives in poverty and many children don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” she was quoted as saying.
Instead of helping in some way, she chose to brag about her outlandishly expensive clothes. It’s more than tone-deaf, it’s deplorable.”
Vanity Fair estimated Ms Linton’s outfit featured in her post was worth at least US$13,775 (A$17.400).
“The Tom Ford sunglasses retail for US$445, the Hermès scarf for US$940, the Valentino heels are US$995, and the Roland Mouret trousers are US$1,395 (though they are now on sale for US$348). The cost of a Hermès Birkin bag usually starts around US$10,000 but can go upwards of US$150,000,” it said.
A Treasury spokesperson told CNN: “The Mnuchins are reimbursing the government for her travel, and she does not receive compensation for products she mentions.”
– With agencies
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