Cabinet Member's Wife: Poor Just Don't Understand The Burdens Of The Fabulously Rich

WASHINGTON, DC — Life isn't always easy for anyone. If you follow the Instagram account of the fabulously wealthy wife of the U.S. Treasury secretary, though, you may be surprised to learn just how tough it can be for a couple who own a $12 million mansion and flies everywhere on the company dime. It's a hard, hard life — or so she apparently thinks.

A lot of other people, though, have had difficulty mustering up any sympathy for Louise Linton, who's married to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

One American, in particular, took issue when Linton posted a picture of herself Monday descending from a government plane with her husband on Instagram. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable," wrote Portland, Oregon mom and Instagram user Jenni M.

Linton would not let this — actually relatively mild — form of online criticism go unanswered.

"Aw!! Did you think this was a personal trip?!" Linton wrote in response, using excessive punctuation to effect a mocking tone. "Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?!"

She went on to apparently criticize Jenni M. for presumably being too poor to pay as much in taxes as the family of the Treasury secretary.

"Have you given more to the economy than me and my husband?" she continued. "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 added: "You’re adorably out of touch. ... Sending me passive aggressive Instagram comments isn’t going to make life feel better."

After the Instagram post began attracting widespread derision, Linton decided discretion was the better part of valor and made her account private.

Observers quickly pointed out that it wasn't exactly a brilliant public relations strategy for the wife of the Cabinet official with most direct responsibility for the nation's economy to openly mock an American for being poor.

Yashar Ali, writing for the Huffington Post, compared Linton to the legendarily oblivious French monarch Marie Antoinnette, dubbing the comments a "Let them eat cake" moment.

Ali also pointed out that Linton was promoting clothing designers in the post using hashtags.

"It’s unusual, if not unprecedented, for the spouse of a Cabinet secretary to promote the designers she is wearing in any social media post, much less one that includes a photograph of herself with her husband while on government travel," he wrote.

Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics who resigned in protest over the Trump administration's apparent disregard for his agency's mission, didn't buy Linton's defense of her trip.

"Not a personal trip?" Shaub tweeted. "The failed actress isn't a govt official. So, those little people whose worth she questions? They paid for her vacation."

On Tuesday, a Treasury spokesperson said that the Mnuchin family will reimburse the government for Linton’s travel expenses.

"I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response," Linton said in a statement Tuesday. "It was inappropriate and highly insensitive."

AP Photo/Alex Brandon