August 22, 2017

Here’s What Happened When Steve Mnuchin’s Wife Mocked a Woman for Having Less Money

#HermesScarf reached new levels of tone-deaf with this belittling rant.

Kevin Dietsch/ZUMA

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Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, was forced to make her social-media presence private after sparking outrage with an Instagram post that flamboyantly bragged about a slew of designer labels she was wearing while disembarking an official Air Force jet.

The caption on the now-deleted photo read: ā€œGreat #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside #rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usaā€ 

As if that wasn’t enough, Linton managed to make matters worse for herself by mocking one of her critics for having less money than she does. 

ā€œGlad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorableā€ Jenni Miller, a mother of three living in Portland, had commented on the photo.

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

Linton swiftly lashed out at Miller with the following rant on the post, which has since gone viral:

Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! 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? Iā€™m pretty sure we paid more sacrifices toward our day ā€œtripā€ than you did.

Linton’s harsh response immediately reminded the internet of the actress’s self-published memoir last year that detailed her time living in Zambia during her gap year in the 1990s. That book, titled In Congoā€™s Shadow, was roundly ridiculed for what many described as screaming white privilege and general bad writing. 

Even “alt-right” conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich joined the outrage today to call Linton “basic.”

https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/899828247743025152

Linton and Mnuchin were married in Washington, DC, this past June. Vice President Mike Pence officiated the extravagant ceremony.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

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