‘I Got Knocked Down But I Got Back Up!’ Fired-Up Fetterman Hits Back at Dr. Oz and Debate Critics at New Rally

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor and Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman hit back at critics of his debate performance — and at his opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz — during a rally that featured Dave Matthews.

On Tuesday night, Fetterman and Oz participated in a televised debate that became the subject of heated commentary on Fetterman’s performance, a dispute over the closed-captioning tech used in the debate to accommodate Fetterman, and speculation about his condition.

On Wednesday evening, Fetterman held a rally in Pittsburgh, addressing the debate performance head-on.

After joking that he’d much rather be on stage with Dave Matthews than with Oz the previous night, Fetterman told the crowd, “to be honest here, doing that debate wasn’t exactly easy. You know. Knew it wasn’t going to be easy after having a stroke after five months, in fact.”

He was frequently interrupted by raucous cries of support from the crowd but continued talking about the debate and his recovery and slamming Dr. Oz:

And in fact, I don’t think that’s ever been done before in American political history before, actually. You know, after that stroke, I got knocked down, but I got back up!

And I’m going to fight for everyone in Pennsylvania who ever got knocked down, that they ever had to get back up.

And let me tell you something else. What’s, what also something remarkable happened after that debate is that we’ve raised over more than $2 million after that debate.

You know, last night. Last night Oz said that, and I want to get this right, Quote, “Local political leaders should be deciding whether a woman should be able to get an abortion.”

Basically kind of like Doug Mastriano. (jeers) Yeah. You know. For, for some of the focus on some of the words that I miss, you know, he really has to say that he had the worst line of that night.

…Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh always puts fries on everything. Even on his crudites.

But let me tell you, you know, he is, Dr. Oz has never let me ever forget having a stroke. And I. Yeah, and I guarantee you, there’s people, you know, at least one person here, wanting to film this and to get more words that I miss. It’s quite an inspiring campaign to run on that kind of idea.

And let me ask you, what kind of doctor that has somebody that was sick, wants to stay sick?

And let me, everywhere, all across Pennsylvania, I do, I ask this one question. It’s a very serious question. How many one of you, perhaps any one of you, had your own personal major health challenge? And please, and please keep your hands up.

Okay. What about maybe your parents? Okay. What about perhaps a grandparent and, God forbid, even, even a child?

There’s a lot more of us to be rooting against, like Dr. Oz. And I hope that when you had those challenges with your loved ones, I hope you didn’t have a doctor in your life making fun of it or ridiculing that.

But unfortunately I do. But if we don’t do what we need to do, we’re all going to have him for the next six years on that. Yeah. And it’s another, it’s another truth, too. By January. By January, I’m going to be feeling even better. But he will still be a fraud.

Watch above via KDKA.