#RightMatters Trends After Adam Schiff Impeachment Trial Speech Goes Viral

The hashtag #RightMatters has trended on social media after the lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff told senators that President Donald Trump should be removed from office because "right matters."

Speaking to the Republican-controlled chamber on the third full day of the impeachment trial, the California Democrat quoted witness Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, and argued that the Constitution didn't matter if "right" didn't matter.

In his attempt to stir GOP lawmakers into voting for the commander-in-chief's removal from office, Schiff also said what President Trump allegedly did was "not right," but normal in "the old country" where his great-grandfather came from.

His speech won plaudits on some sections of social media, with Twitter users describing his closing remarks as "gripping" and a "closing statement for the ages."

Delivering his closing remarks at the impeachment trial on Thursday, Rep. Schiff said: "Colonel Vindman said here right matters. If right doesn't matter, it doesn't matter how good the Constitution is. It doesn't matter how brilliant the Framers were. It doesn't matter how good or bad our advocacy in this trial is. Doesn't matter how well written the oath of impartiality is.

"If right doesn't matter, we are lost. If the truth doesn't matter, we're lost."

He went on to plead with Republican senators that if they found President Trump guilty they should also back his removal from office.

"He should be removed because right matters, and the truth matters," Schiff added.

Sharing a clip of the House Democrats' speech with the #RightMatters hashtag, the journalist David Shuster said: "The final 8 and a half minutes of
@RepAdamSchiff close from tonight. Gripping. Dramatic. Historic."

"Well done, Adam Schiff. Well done. History will remember your defense of decency, democracy, truth and choosing the right path," The New York Times contributing op-ed writer Wajahat Ali tweeted.

Progressive activist and podcast host Ryan Knight also described the speech as a "closing statement for the ages.

MSNBC host Joy Reid also pointed out that the crux of Rep. Schiff's closing statement was first in the trending charts overnight.

At the time of writing, the hashtag #RightMatters is at the top of the U.S. trending charts, with almost 80,000 tweets featuring the tag.

As the Democratic arguments for impeachment came to a close, President Trump tweeted a clip from Fox News' Hannity show that criticized the opening arguments against the commander-in-chief as "babbling" and "repetition."

The impeachment trial is set to continue tomorrow, with House impeachment managers laying out evidence supporting the obstruction of Congress charge they brought against the president in December.

After the prosecutors have used all of their allotted time, President Trump's defense team will detail their arguments against his impeachment and removal from office under the two charges facing him.

Correction 01/24/20 07:57 ET: The headline of this story has been corrected to reflect that the hashtag was #RightMatters rather than #RightsMatter.