Sen. Joni Ernst unloads on Hillary Clinton at Republican National Convention

Sen. Joni Ernst addresses the 2016 Republican National Convention

(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

last updated 19 July 2016

The second-to-last speaker at Monday night's Republican National Convention, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), gave a hard-hitting indictment of Democrat Hillary Clinton to a mostly empty convention hall, according to Fox News. On stage with a group of fellow veterans, Ernst said that Clinton "has already failed us too many times before," citing Benghazi and her private email server. When the remaining crowd reprised their chant of "lock her up," Ernst smiled and said, "that's right." (Previous speaker, Michael Flynn, had chanted along, saying: "Damn right. There's nothing wrong with that.")

"Our men and women of the armed services do not fail us; they cannot fail us," Ernst said. She said Donald Trump would be a "strong stabilizing force," adding, "It's time to stand up and fight for the security of our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves." With Clinton, it's always about Hillary Clinton, Ernst said. "Donald Trump is focused on you."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.