President Joe Biden isn’t the only Democratic politician to have suffered a “rough debate” recently, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) reminded his followers after Biden’s disappointing performance in his Thursday night against the presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump. Fetterman speaks from his own experience when he says that while many Democrats can be heard pressing the panic button after Biden brought his “C” game to the stage, he refuses to join the “Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate.”
[NOTE: Fetterman’s Biden-backing company among Democrats includes campaign surrogate and California Governor Gavin Newsom who said “we’ve all had nights like that” and insisted “you don’t turn your back [on Biden] because of one performance. What kind of party does that?”]
I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) June 28, 2024
Biden’s shoulder after the debate.
No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record. pic.twitter.com/NjWdUw5ugh
Fetterman knows firsthand what it’s like to have a “rough debate.” When the former Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor ran in 2022 against his GOP Senate opponent — the Trump-endorsed TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz — Fetterman’s speech and hearing problems were evident and alarming.
With the debate coming just five months after he suffered a stroke, Fetterman sometimes struggled to complete sentences, stumbled over words and paused altogether — triggering responses very similar to what Biden is hearing today.
Days prior to the debate, Fetterman’s campaign wrote: “We’ll admit – this isn’t John’s format,” and added that Oz “clearly comes into Tuesday night with a huge built-in advantage.” And yet Fetterman won the hotly-contested seat with 51.2% of the votes (Oz took 46.3%).
As seen and heard in the post-debate interview with MSNBC above, Fetterman said: “I thought it was important to be there. We showed up. Getting knocked down, I always got back up…And to me that’s really the essence of our campaign.”
Biden used Fetterman’s description — getting knocked down and getting back up — almost verbatim today in an attempt to quell concerns during a post-debate rally in North Carolina, where the President admitted he isn’t the debater he used to be. Biden acknowledged that he had taken a hit in the debate. “When you get knocked down, you get back up,” Biden told the welcoming crowd in the video below.
Folks, I might not walk as easily or talk as smoothly as I used to.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) June 28, 2024
I might not debate as well as I used to.
But what I do know is how to tell the truth.pic.twitter.com/ep5D0EhT5P
