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: “Great #daytrip to #Kentucky! #nicest #people #beautiful #countryside #rolandmouret pants #tomford sunnies, #hermesscarf #valentinorockstudheels #valentino #usa” 

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. 

“Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable” 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? I’m pretty sure we paid more sacrifices toward our day “trip” 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 Congo’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 CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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