Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s wife, Louise Linton, deleted an Instagram post from Saturday where she expressed her support for teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Prior to her post, Mnuchin sparred with the teenager over whether the United States should divest from fossil fuels. Dismissing her ask for the end of the fossil fuel industry, Mnuchin said the 17-year-old should study economics in college, and then “she can come back and explain that to us.”
In Linton’s post—which tagged both Thunberg and her husband—she expressed sympathy for Thunberg.
“I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don’t have a degree in economics either),” wrote Linton, an actress and animal rights activist, according to CNBC. “We need to drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels. Keep up the fight @gretathunberg.”
Actress and producer Louise Linton, who is married to US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, says she stands with @GretaThunberg
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 25, 2020
Note how Linton says “I don’t have a degree in economics either”
This is in response to Mnuchin saying that Thunberg should study economics. pic.twitter.com/W8JFqbWIdd
Though Linton did not explain why she deleted the post, Thunberg herself responded to Mnuchin on Thursday. In a series of tweets she wrote, “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.”
“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,” she added.
My gap year ends in August, but 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. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/1virpuOyYG
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 23, 2020
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. 2/3
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 23, 2020
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