'Put it on a bumper sticker': Senator's viral remark seen as a 'golden gift to Democrats'
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Ioa) on August 15, 2023 (Image: Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons)
Following Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) comment at a town hall that “we are all going to die,” Democratic lawmakers and strategists sharply criticized the Republican Party and recent Medicaid cuts.
The remark came during a town hall on Friday in Iowa, after a constituent shouted, “People are going to die,” referring to the impact of GOP-led Medicaid reductions. Ernst responded, “Well, we all are going to die.”
Democratic lawmakers and strategists took to the social platform X, saying the clip proves their point that Republicans do not care about the impact of former President Donald Trump's controversial policies.
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Reacting to the clip, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) wrote on X: "This is MAGA's one, big, beautiful healthcare plan."
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) reacted to the remarks with a meme of Shrek antagonist Lord Farquaad that read, "Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make."
"They're doing the meme," Escobar wrote.
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said: "I thought my job as Senator was to try to keep my constituents alive."
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Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said: "If you think ‘we’re all going to die’ is a policy position, you have been in Washington too long. The whole point of politics is to save lives and make life better."
"The best summary of the Republican position I’ve ever heard," wrote Saikat Chakrabarti, left-wing activist who is running for Congress in California's 11th congressional district in the 2026 election.
"This is a golden gift to Democrats. It should be spun into a commercial and played on an endless loop everywhere," writer Cliston Brown said.
Former Obama advisor Jon Fabreau wrote: "Put it on a bumper sticker."
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"My main frustration with American politics right now is that so much political chatter is devoted to chastising Democrats as out of touch or elitist, but Republican leaders say stuff like this all the time and don't face many consequences," wrote a user.
