Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the House impeachment managers in the Senate trial of President Donald Trump, closed his Thursday presentation with an appeal to the Constitution itself.
“If right doesn’t matter, we’re lost. If truth doesn’t matter, we’re lost. The framers couldn’t protect us from ourselves if right and truth don’t matter,” Schiff said. “And you know that what [Trump] did was not right.”
He added:
No constitution can protect us if right doesn’t matter anymore. And you know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump. He’ll do it now. He’s done it before. He’ll do it for the next several months. He’ll do it in the election, if he’s allowed to.
And that, Schiff said, is why Trump must be removed.
“Right matters. And the truth matters,” Schiff said. “Otherwise we are lost.”
The speech caused Schiff’s name to trend on Twitter, along with the phrases #RightMatters and #TruthMatters, His supporters praised the speech as one destined for the history books:
If American democracy survives Donald Trump my kids will someday learn in school about the closing Adam Schiff gave tonight.
— Michelle Goldberg (@michelleinbklyn) January 24, 2020
This is brilliantly argued and so compelling. Watch if you have time. Call your senators. Everyone says the outcome is predetermined. But make sure your senators hear from you if you're moved by this. Thank you, Congressman Schiff, for standing up for what's right. https://t.co/MOuBSCBaSE
— John Legend (@johnlegend) January 24, 2020
Masterful close from Schiff, summing up not just this case but the entirety of the Trump presidency. “You can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country. He’ll do what’s right for Donald Trump.”
— Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) January 24, 2020
Schiff is magnificent. Every American should be proud and should know what he says is true and right. There are not two sides to everything.
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 24, 2020
The Schiff closing tonight was exceptional and correct and got to the core of the whole thing.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) January 24, 2020
Senators will do whatever they’ll do, but Schiff’s closing will be played again and again, viewed on YouTube, shared with friends. It will speak to the American people come November 2020 & it will be a much-studied historical document. “In America, right matters.”
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) January 24, 2020
Schiff is making his mark on history. Derelict Senators are failing America, but Schiff is giving this republic the defense it deserves. https://t.co/mlIzzo8xMS
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) January 24, 2020
Rep. Schiff cuts to the heart of why Trump should be removed:
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) January 24, 2020
“You know you can't trust this president to do what's right for this country. You can trust he'll do what's right for Donald Trump.”
Schiff is a person who has risen to the occasion history has put him in. Such people are beacons for us generations after they’ve passed.
— Elad Nehorai (@PopChassid) January 24, 2020
Because goodness is beyond time: it is immortal. https://t.co/sTMIpC2Zs9
“Here, right matters.”
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) January 24, 2020
That was an emotional closing by Schiff.
Our country is lucky to have Adam Schiff at a time when leadership from so many other places is so lacking.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 24, 2020
I am in tears. Thank you Chairman Schiff for fighting for our country.
— Debra Messing (@DebraMessing) January 24, 2020
Adam Schiff clearly & forcefully speaks the Truth. All the Republican Senators know it. Now they owe it to all of US and the survival of Democracy to do the right thing. Donald Trump must be removed from office.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) January 24, 2020
Adam Schiff’s fiery patriotism is precisely what this country needs as we face the treachery of Donald Trump. Schiff is fighting like hell for America — for every one of us.
— Stephanie Kennedy (@WordswithSteph) January 24, 2020
“If right doesn’t matter, we’re lost. If truth doesn’t matter, we’re lost.”#ImpeachmentTrials
Wow. Just wow. Schiff is a master.
— Teri Kanefield (@Teri_Kanefield) January 24, 2020
He concluded by saying (passionately) that we all know this president. We know what we're dealing with. We know we can't trust him to do what is best for the country. He will do only what is best for Donald Trump.
Mic drop.
Never stop retweeting. Adam Schiff made a speech for the history books tonight. pic.twitter.com/KvLR1qGJIl
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) January 24, 2020
I don't want to go to bed tonight without saying that Adam Schiff is one of the great attorneys of his generation, and his arguments this week were some of the most stirring, inspiring, ethical, admirable orations America has seen in over a quarter-century.
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 24, 2020
I hope they matter. pic.twitter.com/jhliAFLTs9
Schiff spoke with the emotion of someone who was trying his best to appeal to people who have lost their consciences.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) January 24, 2020
“Right matters. And truth matters. Otherwise we are lost.” — @RepAdamSchiff. That final ten minutes was extraordinary. Schiff made a compelling case that leaving Trump in office endangers us all. We all know we can’t count on Trump. To do what’s right not for him but for us all.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 24, 2020
Schiff’s closing tonight is something future generations will watch: “Here, right matters.” It sure as hell does.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 24, 2020
Adam Schiff’s closing statement tonight was powerful, speaking directly to senators who have watched Trump’s behavior the past three years.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 24, 2020
“You know you can’t trust this president to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump.” pic.twitter.com/cUl8WWpq9m
What is so extraordinary about Schiff's performance is that there is no artifice in his presentations, no false gravity, no oratorical tricks. He speaks plainly. He speaks from the heart. His mastery of the facts is elevated by his morality, by the sincerity of his passion.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) January 24, 2020
Greatest political speech of my lifetime of 33 years. I'm proud to be an American again after listening to you speak. Thank you @RepAdamSchiff #RightMatters #TruthMatters
— GDiddy64 (@GDiddy64) January 24, 2020
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