Senator Murphy Slams GOP Cruelty After Joni Ernst’s Chilling Dismissal of Medicaid Deaths

Senator Chris Murphy sharply criticized Republican Senator Joni Ernst for dismissing concerns that Medicaid cuts will lead to people dying, after Ernst casually remarked, “we’re all going to die.”

This has become one of the most damaging political PR blunders in recent memory.

Speaking on CNN, Murphy referenced Ernst’s now infamous comment: “I think everyone in that audience knows they’re going to die.”

At a town hall, when confronted with the fact that Republican proposals to cut Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would cause real harm—and even deaths—Ernst appeared unfazed.

“Well, we’re all going to die,” she responded dismissively. Ernst later doubled down in a separate video, saying she “made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.”

She added, “So I apologize, and I’m really, really glad that I didn’t have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.”

Murphy was unequivocal in condemning such callousness:

“They’d rather people die at 85 or 90 than at 40. But the truth is, losing healthcare dramatically increases the risk of premature death,” he said.

“When rural hospitals and drug treatment clinics in Iowa and other parts of rural America close because of this bill, more people will die younger,” he continued. “This is literally a life-and-death issue—so what’s the point?”

Murphy went on to explain the real motivation behind these cuts:

“They’re cutting Medicaid and pushing 15 million Americans off their healthcare just to pay for tax breaks for the super wealthy and corporations,” he said. “That’s fundamentally immoral—unethical.”

“I don’t understand why they’re doing this except that Donald Trump knows billionaires and CEOs, and he’s told Republicans to reward them and no one else,” Murphy added.

“I wish Joni Ernst and others would recognize the moral failure of what they’re doing.”

Sadly, Ernst’s callous attitude reflects a deeper problem within the Republican Party, which has increasingly abandoned any pretense of caring for people—prioritizing cruelty over compassion.