Mouth are still agape at the actions of Louise Linton, the Scottish "actress" and "writer" who recently married swamp monster/film producer/Goldman Sachs villain/Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. After traveling with her husband to Kentucky on a government plane this week, Linton posted a glamorous pic of herself on Instagram exiting the jet and tagged the designers she was wearing, which included Hermes and Tom Ford.
When a female Instagram user criticized her decision to flaunt her wealth and travel opportunities, possibly at taxpayers' expense, Linton posted an unbelievable response.
"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 give 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. You're adorably out of touch. 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."
Linton then deleted the post, but the public's shock remains. A CNN panel, which included veteran journalist April Ryan, was aghast at Linton's actions.
"She had a Birkin bag, I think it's at least $10,000," Ryan said. "When you are a public servant -- and even if you're married to a public servant -- you have to remember service is about the people. Many of the people that you're serving can't afford a Birkin bag that's at least $10,000, or a beautiful scarf by whatever designer it was."
When another panelist called Linton's actions "tone-deaf," commentator Errol Louis had the perfect response.
"Not just tone-deaf," he said. "Reflecting a sneering, snarling contempt for those who don't have what she has, which is wealth and power. That is the style of this administration," he said. "And unless he reels it in, you have to assume that the president and the rest of the White House are OK with portraying themselves this way."
Linton, by the way, got in hot water last year when she self-published a novel about her year slumming in Africa, casting herself as a white savior and getting many historical details wrong. The book was pulled.