Louise Linton briefly posted and deleted a message of support for Greta Thunberg, whom her husband Steve Mnuchin dissed at Davos

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Louise Linton briefly posted and deleted a message of support for Greta Thunberg, whom her husband Steve Mnuchin dissed at Davos
greta thunberg

Ron Adar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty

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Greta Thunberg speaks on stage during NYC Climate Strike rally and demonstration at Battery Park, New York on September 20, 2019.

  • Louise Linton, a Scottish-born actress and wife to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, briefly posted then deleted a message of support for Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on her Instagram page.
  • At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mnuchin dismissed Thunberg, who was named Time's 2019 person of the year, as not knowledgeable enough to weigh in on climate issues.
  • "Is she the chief economist or who is she? I'm confused," Mnuchin said of Thunberg. "After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us."
  • "I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either) We have to drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels. Keep up the fight @gretathunberg," Linton posted to her more than 17,000 Instagram followers on Saturday.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Louise Linton, a Scottish-born actress and wife to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, briefly posted then deleted a message of support for Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on her Instagram page.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mnuchin dismissed Thunberg, who was named Time's 2019 person of the year, as not knowledgeable to weigh in on climate issues.

"Is she the chief economist or who is she? I'm confused," Mnuchin said in response to a question about whether the US would follow Thunberg's calls to transition away from fossil fuels. "After she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us."

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Shortly after, the 17-year-old Thunberg - who is known for her Internet clapbacks - replied, "It doesn't take a college degree in economics to realise that our remaining 1.5° carbon budget and ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and investments don't add up."

She added, "So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by the climate emergency why we should abandon our climate commitments."

And just two days later, Mnuchin's own wife appeared to take Thunberg's side.

"I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either) We have to drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels. Keep up the fight @gretathunberg," Linton posted to her over 17,000 Instagram followers on Saturday.

Linton's post, which tagged both Mnuchin and Thunberg's Instagram handles, featured a photo of them both side-by-side, in addition to a number of other photos showing fires, floods, and endangered species meant to illustrate the real-world effects of climate change.

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And in case the message to her husband wasn't clear enough, Linton tagged Mnuchin's Instagram handle in the first photo of the post.

This wasn't the first time Linton had taken to Instagram to publicly disagree with members of the Trump administration.

Linton, a vocal animal rights advocate and, also used the platform to directly criticize the Trump administration relaxing restrictions on the ability of Americans to import hunting wild game, including that of endangered species like elephants, into the United States.

In a 2019 interview with Los Angeles Magazine, Linton made clear that despite being married to a Trump cabinet official, she won't hesitate from holding and expressing her own views, even those that come into conflict with her husband's job.

She told the publication: "I very much respect my husband and the president of the United States, but I am an individual with my own beliefs and views. You should measure me by my actions, the friends I keep and the charities I support, not by the politics of my husband."

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Read more:

Greta Thunberg fires back after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says she isn't qualified to lecture the US on climate change

'Haters gonna hate & deniers will deny': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends Greta Thunberg after Steven Mnuchin dissed the activist

Everything you need to know about Davos, the invitation-only conference that brings billionaires together with business and political leaders at a Swiss resort

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