Louise Linton's post was later deleted and her account made private so that her posts are viewable only for those already following her. | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images Treasury secretary's wife apologizes after lashing out over Instagram comments

Actress Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, apologized Tuesday after she tangled with an Oregon woman in the comments section of her Instagram account.

On Monday evening, Linton responded condescendingly after the woman commented on one of her Instagram photos, in which she and Mnuchin appeared to be disembarking from a government plane, with a caption that highlighted several designer clothing brands. In her reply to the critical comment, Linton bragged that her family is wealthy and called the woman “adorably out of touch."


On Tuesday afternoon, she issued an apology through her publicist. "I apologize for my post on social media yesterday as well as my response. It was inappropriate and highly insensitive," she said in the statement.

In her caption for the photo, in which she stood near a plane painted in the same style as the much larger Air Force One, Linton wrote that the couple had enjoyed a “great #daytrip to #Kentucky,” adding hashtags for brands including #rolandmouret, a French fashion designer, #hermesscarf, #tomford and #valentino.

Mnuchin had been in Kentucky to visit Fort Knox and view its gold stockpile, which has an estimated value of $186 billion, according to an Associated Press report. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Gov. Matt Bevin and Rep. Brett Guthrie, all Republicans from Kentucky, accompanied the treasury secretary at Fort Knox.

Linton's fashion-laden post prompted a bevy of comments, including one from user @jennimiller29, who wrote, “Glad we could pay for your little getaway. #deplorable.” The comment sparked a long reply from Linton.

“Aw!!! Did you think this was a personal trip?! Adorable! Do you think the US govt paid for our honeymoon or personal travel?! Lololol,” the actress wrote. “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 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.”

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Further in her comment, Linton insisted that “I know you’re mad, but deep down you’re really nice and so am I.” She wrote that the Instagram commenter’s “life looks cute” and that her “kids look very cute.” Linton wrote that “sending me passive aggressive Instagram comments isn’t going to make life feel better” and instead recommended “a nice massage, one filled with wisdom and humanity.”

“You’re adorably out of touch,” Linton wrote in her message, punctuating it by urging the commenter to “go chill out and watch the new game of thrones. It’s fab!”

Linton's post was later deleted and her account made private so that her posts are viewable only by those already following her.

Jenni Miller, the Oregon woman behind the triggering comment, told The New York Times that “if she hadn’t made her account private, I would have written back with a very snide Marie Antoinette joke.”

“I think my post was just five or six words, and she had to go on basically a rant about it to make herself look more important and look smarter, better, richer — all those things,” Miller said.

Madeline Conway contributed to this report.