Joni Ernst doubles down on her surly Eeyore act

The Iowa senator delivered quite a gift to Democrats not once but twice this week

Intro by Sam Bellamy

In a rather charming development, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst has begun making campaign commercials for her Democratic opponent to use next fall.

Listen to the video clip below, and – like me – you’ll be stumped to think of more thoughtful gesture from the two-term Republican senator to her prospective replacement.

Ernst created a bit of a furor this week at a town hall meeting in Iowa with her response to a constituent who said Republican-backed cuts to Medicaid would cause people to die. The cuts, part of the so-called big, beautiful bill touted by President Trump, would strip Medicaid coverage from 10.3 million people by 2034 and leave 7.6 million uninsured.

The senator, clearly frustrated by the crowd’s complaints about the cuts, replied, "People are not — well, we all are going to die, so, for heaven’s sakes."

The audience jeered, and video clips of the exchanges quickly spread on social media and television.

So, on Sunday, Ernst stood before a cell phone camera and recorded another response.

In the beginning, it sounds like an apology, but it soon becomes something quite different.

So far, one Democrat – Nathan Sage, a veteran of both the Marine Corps and Army who served three tours in Iraq and is now executive director of a local chamber of commerce – has announced his candidacy. He has a slight lead over Ernest in one early poll. It seems likely others will now jump into race.

At this point, a corn stalk would be a better choice than Ernst.