Fetterman Says Oz Debate 'Wasn't Exactly Easy,' May Have Made 'History'

Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman said during a rally on Wednesday that his debate against Mehmet Oz "wasn't exactly easy," but that he may have made "American political history" for appearing onstage after suffering a stroke just five months earlier.

The Democrat currently holds a 3.9 point lead over his Republican opponent, whom he faced Tuesday night in Pennsylvania's only senatorial debate. Fetterman hosted a rally in Pittsburgh the following day and was met by a crowd of cheering supporters as he walked onstage to "Back in Black" by Australian rock band AC/DC.

The rally was recorded and later uploaded to YouTube by Fox News.

"To be honest to you, doing that debate wasn't exactly easy," Fetterman said to the crowd. "I knew it wasn't going to be easy...after having a stroke after five months. In fact, I don't think that's ever been done before in American political history before, actually."

Fetterman also told his supporters that in the day following the debate, his campaign had raised over $2 million. He was later joined onstage by musician Dave Matthews.

"You know, after that stroke I got knocked down, but I got back up," Fetterman said. "And I'm going to fight for everyone in Pennsylvania who ever got knocked down that ever had to get back up."

Fetterman said in a tweet Wednesday night that 3,300 people attended the outdoor rally.

Fetterman's health has been under constant scrutiny since suffering a stroke in May, especially after an interview aired earlier in the month that showed he was still experiencing auditory processing delays and required a closed captioning device to follow along with the interviewer.

Fetterman used a closed captioning device during Tuesday night's debate as well.

He also dodged a question on Tuesday regarding if he would commit to releasing his medical records, to which the candidate repeated that his "doctor believes that I'm fit to be serving." Fetterman's physician released a letter last week stating that he was well enough to serve in public office.

Fetterman stumbled over his words a few times during the debate against Oz, who has supported the Democrat continuing to run despite his experiencing disabilities from the stroke. Joe Calvello, Fetterman's campaign spokesman, told reporters following the debate that he thought the candidate did "pretty damn well," according to NBC News.

Barney Keller, campaign spokesman for Oz, told reporters that it was a "disaster," according to NBC.

Newsweek reached out to Fetterman's campaign for comment.