Sen. Joni Ernst defends "we all are going to die" comment with pitch to embrace Jesus

Instead of addressing fears of preventable deaths caused by GOP policies, Senator Ernst offered nothing but religion and ridicule

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During a town hall meeting on Friday in Iowa, Republican Sen. Joni Ernst attempted to defend an indefensible bill that would, among other things, throw well over 10 million people off of Medicaid over the next decade. When someone in the audience yelled out that “people will die” if Republicans pass this bill—which is accurate—Ernst dismissed the concern with a sound bite that should haunt her for the rest of her career.

“People are not—well, we all are going to die.”

Yes, we’re all going to die. The difference is that (decent) Democrats want to make your life worth living and make sure you have access to free or affordable care, while Republicans like Ernst want to hasten the deaths of those they believe deserve it.

The tone of her voice, though, said even more than that. It suggested that she didn’t give a damn about her own constituents who might die sooner than they might otherwise because she personally helped kick them off Medicaid, leaving them without any kind of social safety net.

Sure, people will die, she said, with the subtext being but isn’t that worth it to make rich people even richer?

Her comment received widespread condemnation, as it deserved, but only because she said out loud what all of her colleagues merely think privately. One of her potential Democratic opponents in 2026 said “We all don't have to die so billionaires can have a bigger tax break.” Another said “it is of course true that we are all going to die, but our senators shouldn't be the ones killing us.” (Critics are right to point out that the Republicans who once claimed affordable health care would lead to “death panels” are now cheering on unnecessary deaths caused by their own policies.)

The Des Moines Register blasted it on Saturday’s front page:

Yesterday, Ernst seemed to realize she had made a blunder that deflection alone couldn’t fix, so she posted a video on Instagram—from a cemetery, for some bizarre reason—in which she attempted to explain herself.

Not only did she fail at that, she used it as an opportunity to convert people to Christianity.

Hello everyone. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall.

See, I was in the process of answering a question that had been asked by an audience member when a woman who was extremely distraught screamed out, from the back corner of the auditorium, “People are going to die!”

And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.

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.

But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

Despite saying this was an apology, but didn’t apologize for anything. She doubled down.

• She didn’t address the substance of the complaint.

• She suggested her audience was too stupid to understand how mortality works, comparing their supposed naïveté to believing in the Tooth Fairy.

• And then she urged people to follow Jesus like she was a podcaster urging listeners to try Stamps.com.

It was desperation mixed with condescension, with a dose of religious grifting thrown in for good measure. (It shouldn’t escape anyone’s notice that she mocked one mythical being before very seriously telling people to believe in a different one.)

She doesn’t care. Remember: For conservatives, “pro-life” only applies to fetuses, not humans. It’s easy to tell people to worship God when Republicans like her know damn well that when their own health is on the line, they don’t need to rely on prayer because they have excellent (taxpayer-funded) health care. It’s no wonder she doesn’t care about gun safety either. If we’re all going to die, then why bother doing anything to prevent needless deaths?

Honestly, at this point, I’m shocked more Christians aren’t embarrassed by how easily their religion can co-opted by Republicans to avoid taking any kind of responsibility for their actions. (While many progressive Christians oppose this, the majority of Christians, regardless of denomination, backed Trump in 2024. White evangelicals, of course, have been his most loyal supporters since 2016.) It’s even more ironic to hear Ernst tell everyone to turn to Jesus when you read about her own ethical scandals.

What people need to take away from this is that Ernst’s comments aren’t anomalies. She’s not considered a right-wing extremist even though her views are extreme. This is what Republicans in Congress believe.

Ernst is up for re-election next year. If she doesn’t run, an even worse Republican will inevitably win that primary. If this is what Iowa voters want, they may as well start digging their own graves. No doubt Ernst would be happy to point them to a nearby cemetery.

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