Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was criticized after she offered a "haunting" response to a constituent concerned about health care cuts in the Republican budget bill, and now she's doubling down by giving a faux apology.
The Iowa Republican held a town hall Friday morning in Parkersburg, where she repeatedly expressed frustration with angry constituents who demanded answers on proposed cuts to Medicaid and food stamp benefits and asked pointed questions about Congress putting a check on president Donald Trump's power, reported KCRG-TV.
She also angered some in the audience when she defended rolling back benefits for those she said were not supposed to be eligible for assistance.
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"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.
On Saturday, Ernst responded to the backlash by making a video that appears at first glance to be an apology, but then takes a sharp turn.
"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.
Watch the video below or click the link right here.