{"id":1053072,"date":"2025-06-02T16:46:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T20:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1053072"},"modified":"2025-06-02T16:46:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T20:46:26","slug":"icymi-gop-senator-joni-ernst-doubles-down-mocking-constituents-who-fear-the-deadly-consequences-of-trumps-budget-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-gop-senator-joni-ernst-doubles-down-mocking-constituents-who-fear-the-deadly-consequences-of-trumps-budget-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: GOP Senator Joni Ernst Doubles Down, Mocking Constituents Who Fear the Deadly Consequences of Trump\u2019s Budget Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, at a town hall in Iowa, Republican Senator Joni Ernst said the quiet part out loud and responded to her constituents\u2019 fears about cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in Trump and Republicans\u2019 budget bill by callously remarking<\/a>, \u201cwell, we all are going to die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immediate and widespread condemnation followed, but instead of apologizing, extending empathy, and standing up for her constituents who rely on Medicaid, over the weekend, Ernst doubled down on her support of Trump\u2019s dangerous budget bill and released a video recorded in a graveyard mocking<\/a> her constituents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to Ernst\u2019s cruel and bizarre comments, <\/em>DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThoughts and prayers have a new meaning for the Republican Party with Joni Ernst doubling down on her cruel words. It is immoral and un-Christian to do nothing to prevent people from dying but unfortunately, Trump, Ernst, and the Republican Party are hellbent on putting their own constituents at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at some of the coverage of Ernst\u2019s weekend comments below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/strong><\/a>: Ernst posts snarky reply after telling town hall \u2018we all are going to die\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAccording to a projection from the Congressional Budget Office, the bill could strip Medicaid coverage from 8.7 million people and lead to 7.6 million more uninsured people over 10 years. The bill also extends trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the nation\u2019s wealthiest, includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending and is expected to add trillions to the national debt. …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Iowa, about 1 in 5 residents are covered by Medicaid, including half of all nursing home residents, according to estimates from the nonprofit health policy research organization KFF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDemocrats have railed against the Republican tax and immigration bill by warning about the consequences to Medicaid recipients. Several were quick to circulate Ernst\u2019s comments over the weekend as they argued that Republicans are willing to prioritize tax cuts for the wealthiest over Americans\u2019 health coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Joni Ernst said the quiet part out loud,\u2019 Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said in a statement Friday. Republicans, he said, don\u2019t care \u2018whether their own constituents live or die as long as the richest few get richer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MSNBC<\/strong><\/a>: \u201cIn bizarre cemetery video, Joni Ernst leans into \u2018we are all going to die\u2019 message\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe senator sparked a controversy, not by telling a secret about human mortality, but by expressing indifference to the real-world consequences of her own party\u2019s policy agenda. Told that the Republican plan would lead to people\u2019s untimely demise, Ernst could\u2019ve pushed back and explained why the criticisms are mistaken, but she instead suggested that if GOP health care plans lead to fatalities, it doesn\u2019t much matter, since \u2018we are all going to die\u2019 anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hill<\/strong><\/a>: \u201cErnst doubles down on Medicaid comment with sarcastic video \u2018apology\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder the current GOP-House passed spending bill, millions would lose access to healthcare if passed by the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Children will get hurt. Women will get hurt. Older Americans who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care and for home care will get hurt. People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive will get hurt,\u2019 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during the debate on the bill, according to Politico. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Hospitals in your districts will close. Nursing homes will shut down. And people will die. That\u2019s not hype. That\u2019s not hyperbole. That\u2019s not a hypothetical,\u2019  he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery Democrat who voted in the House, voted against the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/a>: \u201cJoni Ernst Issues Non-Apology for Joke About People Dying Due to GOP Medicaid Cuts\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump tax bill would force millions off Medicaid by imposing work requirements on so-called \u2018able-bodied\u2019 adults, demanding they work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month. One problem with this idea is that many Medicaid recipients cannot work but have not been approved for disability benefits, which is an onerous process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose beneficiaries will lose their insurance. The Medicaid program also contains strict income caps that require beneficiaries to earn exceedingly little money. Taken together, Republicans are effectively demanding that Medicaid recipients work low-income jobs in order to maintain their health insurance, and the added bureaucracy will certainly result in many eligible beneficiaries losing coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Friday, at a town hall in Iowa, Republican Senator Joni Ernst said the quiet part out loud and responded to her constituents\u2019 fears about cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in Trump and Republicans\u2019 budget bill by callously remarking, \u201cwell, we all are going to die.\u201d Immediate and widespread condemnation followed, but instead of apologizing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nICYMI: GOP Senator Joni Ernst Doubles Down, Mocking Constituents Who Fear the Deadly Consequences of Trump\u2019s Budget Bill - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-gop-senator-joni-ernst-doubles-down-mocking-constituents-who-fear-the-deadly-consequences-of-trumps-budget-bill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T20:46:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T20:46:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-gop-senator-joni-ernst-doubles-down-mocking-constituents-who-fear-the-deadly-consequences-of-trumps-budget-bill\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/icymi-gop-senator-joni-ernst-doubles-down-mocking-constituents-who-fear-the-deadly-consequences-of-trumps-budget-bill\/\",\"name\":\"ICYMI: GOP Senator Joni Ernst Doubles Down, Mocking Constituents Who Fear the Deadly Consequences of Trump\u2019s Budget Bill - 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