'Bonkers': Joni Ernst mocked for making scandal worse with cemetery selfie video

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Raw Story

May 31, 2025 9:45PM ET


Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was brutally ridiculed by political observers on Saturday after she released an awkward selfie video at a cemetery in response to a recent town hall scandal. The Iowa Republican came under fire at her town hall when she defended rolling back benefits for those she said were not supposed to be eligible for assistance. "People will die," one woman shouted out.

Ernst horrified social media users with her sarcastic response to the woman. "Well, we are all going to die," Ernst said, which elicited more angst in the auditorium and online. Over the weekend, Ernst released what purported to be an apology video but was ultimately mocking those she offended.

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

The backlash was instant. Not only was Ernst ridiculed on MSNBC, but onlookers also took to social media. Popular YouTuber Keith Edwards wrote, "Against all odds, Joni Ernst has made it worse." Edwards also asked, "Is she at a cemetery?" Conservative commentator Bill Kristol wrote, "For a pro-life party, they’re kind of pro-death."

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/joni-ernst-bonkers-cemetery-selfie/?utm_source=superhead

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Oh, I missed that! She apologized for her comments on death from a cemetery????

Tone deaf. WHO is running her PR functions?

[genxlib]

3. She did not apologize

She mocked everyone for getting upset about it.

As if the inevitability of death was the concern. Completely ignoring or missing the fact of people dying before their time because of their removal of medical care

It was a nasty piece of work. You have to watch it to really get the sneering undertone.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. See, the "apology" is how MSM is portraying it

I did watch it, but didn't really pick up on contempt, I thought it was just lame, an attempt to slough over it and move on.

[genxlib]

12. It was the tooth fairy reference that turned it into mockery

It started out sounding sincere enough but once she started talking about the tooth fairy, it was pretty clear to me that she was just taking a dump on any concept of empathy for dying early due to her callousness

[GopherGal]

29. I always thought Marie Antoinette got a bit of a bad rap for "Let 'em eat cake"

but she was at least just a clueless child bride and therefore queen consort with no ruling responsibility.

Marie Antoinette was a bleeding-heart liberal snowflake compared to this hateful disdainful Drumpf sycophant who openly mocks her constituents

[ShazzieB]

44. Yeah, it was unbelieveable.

She started out saying she was really sorry, and at first she sounded like she meant it. But then things took a turn without any discernable change in her tone of voice or facial expression. "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."

Then she closed the whole thing out with this: "But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ." And she smiled at the end.

What bothered me most was the way she went from apologizing in what seemed to be a sincere manner to mocking and insulting, without any change in her voice or demeanor until the very end. The insults and mocking were bad enough, but her saying those things in such a faux apologetic tone made everything worse somehow. What an odious woman!

[dchill]

26. "It was a nasty piece of work."

Just consider the source. It is what it is.

[GopherGal]

34. She didn't apologize, she just dug deeper into the hole

So perhaps the choice of a cemetery was apt.

Though I suspect the Iowa electorate lacks the wisdom to make this the funeral for her political career which it should be.

[Cha]

61. And, throws in "Jesus Christ" for good measure.

Johi is so full of herself and Shit!

TY!

[Blues Heron]

2. Some people just should not be in politics. That would include the entire Puke party.

[genxlib]

4. Pro-life my ass

"You should get to know Jesus while we arrange for you to meet him soon"

[Lovie777]

5. Political party of death............

finally being exposed, maybe.

GQP in the open have preached it for a long time, one of the reasons I've expressed their voters "vote against their own interest" comes to mind.

[Bluetus]

21. There are really only three main variants in the Party

A) Greedy, self-centered, wretched bastards, and they wish death on anybody who isn't like them. They don't wish their own deaths, of course.

B) Sociopath gun-crazies, who have no regard for life and may even have their own death wishes

C) Christian rapture fanatics who welcome total annihilation because they think that they alone will rise from the ashes to an eternity of bliss.

Which one is Ernst?

[dchill]

28. To me, it sounds like a buffet.

[maccafan]

6. Pig woman strikes again!

Anybody that saw her ads when she ran for Senate knows what I’m talking about. She really blew it or more than likely she just doesn’t care.

[paleotn]

19. Hog girl. Sister of hog boy?

[travelingthrulife]

8. Christian arrogance. Nothing else like it.

[Maeve]

9. Again, she claims to follow Jesus, but acts like Pilate, washing her hands of guilt for blood she will spill

[area51]

33. +1

Nazis keep mentioning Jesus, but have no use for the New Testament, and only care about the Old Testament, imho.

[colorado_ufo]

41. I'm glad she has a Lord and Savior, because in my opinion,

bitch sure needs savin'.

[Wingus Dingus]

10. They don't care if you die. In fact, it's kinda funny to them.

Why does anyone still think Republicans are in government for the public good?

[AllaN01Bear]

22. yup. once u r out of the womb the rs dont give a hoot. hoot. hoot

[hatrack]

11. Another nonpology from the party of bullshit and lies . . . .

Shocked, shocked!!

[Paladin]

13. Keep up the fine work, Joni Ernst.

The sooner you talk your way out of politics with all these dumb-shit moves, the better.

[mwmisses4289]

14. Gee, mr. kristol, you are just discovering the

party you have championed and cheered on is the party of death? What took you so long to start pulling back the curtain?
Twit.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. Believe it or not

he's been a "Never-Trumper" since 2016 and voted for Biden/Harris and Harris/Walz.

Of all people, I was really shocked but it is what it is.

[mwmisses4289]

27. He may be a never Trumper,

but he has supported and cheered on many of the detrimental gop policies over the years. Perhaps what little conscience he has is finally beginning to stir.

[BumRushDaShow]

37. There are a bunch like him, more or less

including David Frum, Steve Schmidt, Joe Walsh & Charlie Sykes... and a number of them, including Nicolle Wallace, George Conway, & Michael Steele were/are regulars or appear on MSNBC.

[sop]

15. The wealthy and privileged have always used the promise of "eternal and everlasting life" to control their "subjects."

Throughout history those in power have corruptly manipulated people to accept temporal hardships and minimize the importance of worldly justice in the present, cynically promising them true justice and everlasting rewards in the afterlife. That's why Republicans love to conflate Church and State: to exploit people's christian faith so they can maintain power and justify their own corruption and greed by emphasizing rewards of the afterlife.

[NNadir]

17. That "apology" video was more disgusting than the "we all die" comment, which was hard to make happen.

[paleotn]

18. And the conservo-nut religious types wonder why the hate them so.

[Wonder Why]

20. While I don't wish for it, wouldn't it be poetic justice if she suddenly got a diagnosis of incurable cancer and her

constituents wrote her to say "People will die so stop taking medicine and be done with it. You'll see Jesus (or, more likely, hell) that much quicker".

[IronLionZion]

23. The real takeaway is Republicans want Americans to die unnecessarily from preventable causes

Joni is just being very sarcastic and condescending about it.

[Midnight Writer]

24. The poor little girl who wore bread wrappers on her feet has grown up to hurt other little girls

who can't afford decent shoes.

Praise Jesus!

[mdbl]

25. Too bad she didn't bury herself while she was there.

[johnnyfins]

30. She is proof positive that you are what you

Eat. She had way too much bacon...

Oh, and the thing about her savior? Id like to hear how she lives the teachings of Jesus.

[turbinetree]

31. She is living proof that she is a death panel for millions of people in this country and she put party over country

when she voted for RFK, Hegseth, and the other traitors in the current administration.........she basically said screw the Constitution..........she can pound sand........she gets a taxpayer wage and health care..........and she can give a rats ass about the people in this country that are supposedly below her ( peons) in her book ...............and what is really disgusting is that she also gets a pension from the army........resign.................


Go pound sand tells someone they don't have enough sense to do anything worthwhile. Pounding sand is pointless, menial work. The phrase implies that they're better off doing something stupid than bothering you

[Mister Ed]

32. "When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is: stop digging."

I guess Joni has never heard that pithy piece of advice.

How symbolic, though, that she should continue her digging in an actual graveyard.

[patphil]

35. It's ironic that someone with so little regard for people talks about "my lord and savior, Jesus Christ".

If she actually followed the teachings of Jesus, she would have insisted that Medicaid not be cut, and that the rich be more willing to give of their immense wealth to help the poor.
But Republicans, in general, are all about giving lip service to their religion, instead of actual service in the true Christian way.
She may be a lousy Christian, but she's a good Republican.

[Diraven]

36. This is how they kept slaves in line

Tell them that yeah, your life on Earth is horrible, but you shouldn't care about that because if you obey the religion of your masters you can go to heaven when you die.

[Jimvanhise]

38. A FAKE CHRISTIAN

Jesus spoke about helping the poor and downtrodden, but the Republican party doesn't believe in that. Some Christians, when they've heard people read Jesus words from the Bible say, "Hey, why does Jesus sound woke?" Because they, like Joni Ernst, are fake Christians.

[Tranquil72]

39. You first, Joni

“…we are all going to perish from this Earth.”

[3catwoman3]

40. As an Air Force veteran, it embarrasses me that this person...

…had a career as an military officer.

[Skittles]

52. DITTO

it just DISGUSTS me

didn't she pimp for Hegseth too?

[Beartracks]

42. Republican "health care" plan: Die, but you should convert to Christianity first.

[marble falls]

43. Too bad her mother didn't put a third bread bag over her head on those snowy mornings when he was a kid.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

45. For this thread

Senator Joni Ernst

— C-Bo the Eggman (@cbotheeggman.bsky.social) 2025-05-31T03:09:29.015Z

[red dog 1]

46. Bill Kristol is right: "For a pro-life party, they're kind of pro-death."

Kristol doesn't like RFK Jr. either..

Link to tweet

[Chi67]

47. WTF?!

Iowa needs to vote her out!

[Hornedfrog2000]

49. Good luck

This state is gone, and it is only getting more stupid. Most liberals are leaving here, and if they arent they are congregating in the couple bigger cities.

[2naSalit]

48. These maga creatures...

Have no sense of decency or respect for anyone or anything.

[poozwah]

51. the insensitivity of being ernst

yo iowa, have you learned anything yet?

[BidenRocks]

54. May you have a slow, painful, lingering death

you heartless bitch!

You kinda know why she's after the tooth Fairy!

[yourout]

55. Hey Mr Kristol... They have always been the party of death.

This isn't anything new.

[Karasu]

56. "You don't deserve health care because we're all mortal and going to die!" is literally THE most extreme stance

on the subject of health care a human being can possibly have. The GOP deserves to have this hung around their necks for as long as they continue to fucking exist.

Obviously "when" and "how" we die don't fucking matter to you people, then...because without health care, people die of 100% preventable shit, thanks to the insanity of your party and its policies. You know, the whole fucking point of fucking health care. To keep people from dying of preventable shit.

I'm really not sure they want to play this game, because if when and how we die don't matter, then what the fuck is the problem with abortion? Or even Luigi Mangione, for that matter? After all, we're all going to die anyway, so all he did was accelerate the process for Brian the same way health insurance companies do for people everyday.

[mercuryblues]

57. The only ting wrong with it

Is she's on the wrong side of the grass.

[Evolve Dammit]

58. The vapid and total lack of compassion puts her right up there for the christo fascist cult. Make her squeal.

[Cha]

59. Keep Digging, joni baloney.. People are finding out

what you really are.. by your own stupid mouth.

TY, BRDS.

[Rebl2]

60. She is

as mentally sick as trump.

[DENVERPOPS]

62. News Flash BRDS

Report of attack in Boulder Mall here in Colorado, just now on demonstrators........used molotov cocktails on several individuals, all initial reports, unknown if true.......several demonstrators were reported badly burned.............

[Exp]

63. Republican Death Panel. It WAS projection all along. nt

[Godot51]

64. "Humor"

When conservatives attempt "humor" disgust is the most common result.

[wolfie001]

65. "Wonder Bread bags" is truly a repulsive a-hole

She's up there with Neanderthal-Taylor Greene.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

66. Maddow Blog-In bizarre cemetery video, Joni Ernst leans into 'we are all going to die' message

The Republican senator sparked a controversy with her rhetoric about her party's proposed Medicaid cuts. A follow-up video made matters worse.

Maybe Iowa’s Joni Ernst genuinely doesn’t understand why her “we are all going to die” line was a problem.

Or maybe she’s doing an excellent imitation of someone who’s easily confused. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-06-02T12:01:52.974Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/weird-video-iowas-joni-ernst-leans-are-going-die-message-rcna210315

This did not go unnoticed. Not only did Democrats pounce on the GOP senator’s rather morbid defense of her party’s agenda, but local news outlets treated the senator’s quote as front-page news.

A day later, the Iowan — who, incidentally, will face voters again in next year’s midterm election cycle — decided to double down. The Washington Post reported:

While outrage at Ernst’s glib comment was immediate, on Saturday, the senator doubled down with a sarcastic response shared on Instagram. “I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth,” she said in a video filmed in what appeared to be a cemetery. “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[/i].”

The video, which the senator filmed herself in what appeared to be a cemetery, was roughly a minute long.

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:4llrhdclvdlmmynkwsmg5tdc/post/3lqipqc2gdk25

Link to tweet

.....The 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’s policy agenda. Told that Republican plan would lead to people’s untimely demise, Ernst could’ve pushed back and explained why the criticisms are mistaken, but she instead suggested that if GOP health care plans lead to fatalities, it doesn’t much matter, since “we are all going to die” anyway.

Imagine if, 15 years ago, as Republicans peddled “death panels” nonsense while attacking the Affordable Care Act, Democratic senators responded, “Well, we all are going to die.” If you’re thinking that it’d be a rather major development, you’re right.

The difference, however, is that “death panels” were a ridiculous myth, while GOP officials really are trying to advance brutal health care cuts, including the biggest Medicaid cuts ever.

Asked for his reaction to Ernst’s rhetoric, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told CNN’s Dana Bash, “I think everybody in that audience knows that they’re going to die. They would just rather die in old age at 85 or 90, instead of dying at 40. And the reality is that, when you lose your health care, you are much more at risk of early death. And when rural hospitals close because of this bill, when drug treatment clinics close in Iowa and rural America because of this bill, more people will die at a younger age. “So the reality is, this bill is about life and death. ... I wish Joni and others saw the immorality of what they’re doing.”

Stepping back, let’s not forget that Republicans have had plenty of time to come up with credible defenses for their own proposed Medicaid cuts. Ernst’s on-stage rhetoric and her weird follow-up video suggest the party’s messaging efforts aren’t going especially well.