'Up your game': Columnist says GOP senator broke 'one of the top rules of damage control'

When Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) doubled down on her infamous "we all are going to die" comment on her Instagram account, she made several major mistakes that could prove harmful in next year's election.

That's according to the New York Times' Michelle Cottle, who used her Monday column to tear into the Iowa Republican for her viral faux "apology" video. Ernst — who is running for reelection to a third term in November of 2026 — sarcastically "apologized" for her remarks at a town hall last week in which she responded to constituents who yelled at her that the GOP's massive proposed cuts to Medicaid would kill people by saying, "we all are going to die."

"I assumed 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."

READ MORE: 'Who's going to tell him?' Senate GOP leader slammed for comment about low-income Americans

"Joni, Joni, Joni. You have been in the Senate for a while now. You should know one of the top rules of damage control is that when you’ve done something stupid, you shouldn’t prolong the drama by drawing attention to it. Unless your last name is Trump. But yours, Senator Ernst, clearly is not." Cottle wrote of Ernst's video, which she called "so cringe."

Cottle contrasted Ernst's video with Trump's style of politics, and opined that the Iowa senator "failed" because she was "trying so hard to be clever and witty" with an "awkward mishmash of insulting sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek proselytizing." She added that Ernst's video demonstrated what makes Trump's barbs so memorable, while that others who try to emulate him almost always fall flat.

"Like Ernst, I get that we are in an era of never-back-down politics, where brutality is seen as strength and regret is for losers," Cottle wrote. "But Donald Trump is the ultimate showman. He delivers his hateful rhetoric with a dash of panache. He keeps his insults simple. Most important, he never looks as though he’s trying too hard."

"This shtick is harder to pull off than most people realize — or can ever hope to achieve," she added. "But if you’re going to embrace the childish nihilism of MAGA, Senator Ernst, you really need to up your game."

READ MORE: 'Off to a great start': Experts mock Trump's FEMA chief after stunning admission

Click here to read Cottle's full New York Times column (subscription required).