Washington(CNN) Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's wife Louise Linton on Saturday showed support for climate activist Greta Thunberg, days after her husband took a jab at the teenager.
Mnuchin was dismissive of the 17-year-old Swedish climate activist at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and said Thunberg should go study economics in college before weighing in on US policies and how they relate to the climate crisis.
A post on Linton's verified Instagram account, which has since been deleted, reads, "I stand with Greta on this issue. (I don't have a degree in economics either) We need to drastically reduce our use of fossil fuels. Keep up the fight @gretathunberg."
CNN has reached out to Linton about the deleted post and the Treasury Department for comment from Mnuchin.
Linton has kept a relatively low profile since a controversy in 2017 where she apologized after sustained backlash for a now-deleted Instagram post touting her wealth and her subsequent reply belittling a commenter.
Linton's support of Thunberg stands in stark contrast to comments made by her husband days prior.
In Davos, a reporter asked Mnuchin, "Greta Thunberg has called for a public and private sector divestment from fossil fuel companies. Does that pose a threat to US economic growth?"
"Is she the chief economist, or who is she? I'm confused," Mnuchin replied. "It's a joke. After she goes and studies economics in college she can come back and explain that to us."
Thunberg, who also spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, responded on Twitter, "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."
"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," Thunberg wrote.
Thunberg became the youngest individual to be named Time magazine's Person of the Year in December after inspiring climate protesters worldwide. She gained international attention for condemning world leaders for not doing enough to combat the global climate crisis in a viral speech she made at the UN Climate Action Summit in September.
Thunberg has also been a target of President Donald Trump, who has mocked the teen activist on Twitter.
Trump attacked climate activists as "perennial prophets of doom" at the World Economic Forum, where the agenda was focused on tackling the climate crisis. Trump's remarks underscored the chasm between his view on the climate crisis and the overwhelming scientific consensus driving the rest of the developed world to action.
The Trump administration has rolled back key environmental regulations, and Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accord, a landmark effort to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.