Under-fire Sen. Joni Ernst has defended herself once more after going viral for telling constituents concerned about cuts to Medicaid that “We’re all going to die.”
While being pursued by reporters in the U.S. Capitol, the Iowa Republican said: “I’m very compassionate, and you need to listen to the entire conversation.”
Ernst managed to also get out that “we want to protect the most vulnerable” before elevator doors closed behind her.
The GOP senator has been widely criticized for flippant comments she made at a town hall in Butler County, Iowa, last Friday in response to people expressing concerns that may die if they lose access to health care under cuts proposed in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Well, we all are going to die, so for heaven’s sakes,” Ernst said. She later added: “We are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable” and “those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid we will protect.”
Ernst responded to the condemnation over her callous remarks by posting a sarcastic apology video on Instagram which appeared to have been filmed in a graveyard.
“I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,” she said. “So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.”
The comments from Ersnt angered Iowa Democratic state Rep. J.D. Scholten so much that he confirmed a bid to unseat the Republican when her term expires next year.
“I just felt, you know, I have to do this,” Scholten told Politico, adding Ernst had “disrespected” Iowans with her remarks.
Trump’s megabill needs to clear the Senate, where it faces potential pushback from several Republicans over the proposed cuts on Medicaid spending and introduction of new work requirements.
Ernst defended the potential changes during the town hall last week, saying they were necessary to keep people who are “not eligible” from receiving such benefits.
A spokesperson for Ernst previously told the Daily Beast: “While Democrats fearmonger against strengthening the integrity of Medicaid, Senator Ernst is focused on improving the lives of all Iowans.
“There’s only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she’s working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans’ hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse.”
