Wife of Trump's Treasury Secretary boasts about wealth in bizarre Instagram meltdown
The Scottish wife of Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary had a bizarre Instagram meltdown after being criticised for bragging about her designer clothes on a state-funded trip to Kentucky.
In a rambling comment, Louise Linton accused a mother-of-three of being "out-of-touch" and appeared to mock her, saying "your life looks cute".
She received backlash for posting a photograph of herself exiting a government plane in designer clothes and writing about her excursion.
A Treasury Department spokesperson said Mr Mnuchin and Mrs Linton are reimbursing the government for Mrs Linton's travel and that Mrs Linton received no compensation from the fashion labels mentioned in her post.
In the now-deleted post, she wrote “Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside #rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa”.
Some people seemed annoyed that she appeared to be flaunting her wealth on a state-funded trip.
One comment read: “Glad we could pay for your little getaway">
This appeared to get to Ms Linton, who replied to the comment with a long rant in which she bragged about her wealth and appeared to have looked at the poster's Instagram in order to mock it.
She said: "Cute! Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol.
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
"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.
OMG - this Instagram comment from Mnuchin's wife is so unbelievably offensive I thought it was fake. It's real. pic.twitter.com/ykqPmkMsLt
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) August 22, 2017
"You’re adorably out of touch. Thanks for the passive aggressive nasty comment. Your kids look very cute. Your life looks cute. I know you’re mad but deep down you’re really nice and so am I. Sending me passive aggressive Instagram comments isn’t going to make life feel better.
"Maybe a nice message [sic], one filled with wisdom and hunanity [sic] would get more traction. Have a pleasant evening. Go chill out and watch the new game of thrones. It’s fab!”
Critics labelled her response 'Marie Antoinette-style' and accused her of mocking poorer people and bragging about her wealth.
Mnuchin's wife, Louise Linton, is the new Marie Antoinette. Here, she mocks a mother of 3 for having less many than she does: pic.twitter.com/gRf8dTu1zG
— Millennial Democrats (@Millennial_Dems) August 22, 2017
One wrote: "Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton tags designer brands while leaving Air Force jet and goes off on taxpayer. It doesn't get more basic than this! "
Another said: "It's wrong for Louise Linton to mock this mother of 3 for having less money than her."
And another shocked responder wrote: "OMG - this Instagram comment from Mnuchin's wife is so unbelievably offensive I thought it was fake. It's real."
Ms Linton, 36, married Mr Mnuchin in June after meeting him at a wedding in 2013.
