‘So What If You Die?’: Ernst Delivers Most Honest GOP Health Care Pitch Yet

PARKERSBURG — When constituents warned that Trump’s “Big Brutal Bill” could strip Medicaid and leave people dead, Senator Joni Ernst didn’t bother sugarcoating it. “We’re all going to die,” she said flatly at a Friday town hall, drawing groans from the crowd.

The remark went viral as a snapshot of political nihilism: a U.S. senator openly brushing off preventable deaths as unavoidable background noise.

Rather than walk it back, Ernst doubled down in a social media video the next day. Framed like an apology, it quickly devolved into sarcasm—and evangelism. “I assumed everyone knew death was inevitable,” she said with a shrug. “But if you really want to live forever, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Critics said the comments reduced health care to a theological footnote. “The message is basically, ‘no Medicaid, but have you tried Jesus?’” one advocate said.

Ernst, who faces reelection in 2026, hasn’t clarified her comments further. Meanwhile, memes mocking her new health care philosophy have already emerged online: Pray Hard, Die Sooner.