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Treasury Secretary’s Actress Wife Apologizes After Getting Caught Up in Firestorm

Aug 22, 2017  •  Post A Comment

After sending social media into a frenzy over what some are calling her “Let them eat cake” moment, Louise Linton, the newlywed actress wife of Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, has apologized.

CNN reports that the trouble started when Linton posted a photo on Instagram of herself and Mnuchin getting off a government plane following a trip on official business. On the photo, Linton tagged the designers of her outfit, including Roland Mouret, Tom Ford and Valentino.

The now-deleted post triggered an outcry, including a comment from social media user Jennifer Miller, who wrote: “Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.”

Linton responded with a lengthy post that has been widely criticized as condescending, including writing: “Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband? … I’m pretty sure we paid more taxes toward our day ‘trip’ than you did.”

Linton added: “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 also made a series of remarks about Miller’s lifestyle, and called her “adorably out of touch.”

Today, Linton backed off, issuing a statement via a publicist in which she said: “I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive.”

The New York Times notes that the apology came “too late to stop the social-media dredging of her past mistakes, including ‘In Congo’s Shadow,’ a much-criticized memoir about her spotty gap year spent in Africa.”

The Times also notes that critics defaced the Scottish actress’s Wikipedia page, which The Times adds is “usually the first sign of any true social media frenzy.”

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