| Trump lays into Biden in a dour acceptance speech on the final night of the RNC; a top FDA spokesperson gets the boot. Tonight's Sentences was written by Cameron Peters. | | | | | | | The RNC ends with a bang and a Hatch Act violation | | | | | Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | | - On Thursday, President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president in a sprawling 70-minute speech delivered from the South Lawn of the White House to a crowd of more than 1,000 people. [Vox / Aaron Rupar]
- Trump used the last night of the four-day Republican National Convention to launch a grim attack on Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who he said represented a "radical movement" that would "completely dismantle and destroy" the "American way of life." [CNN / Stephen Collinson]
- It was a stunningly dishonest address — made all the more striking by the fact that, according to CNN fact-checker extraordinaire Daniel Dale, most of the lies came from a teleprompter, rather Trump riffing. [Twitter / Daniel Dale]
- For all that Fox News is usually in Trump's corner, the network didn't exactly give the speech rave reviews on Thursday. "I thought the president … was surprisingly flat and didn't seem to have the bite that he usually does have in his speeches," anchor Chris Wallace said. [Daily Beast / Justin Baragona]
- There were also a few verbal stumbles: Among other issues, Trump accidentally declared of the coronavirus pandemic that "we have pioneered the fatality rate" — not quite what he meant to say, if the prepared text is any guide. [Twitter / Jonathan Chait]
- The choice of venue was almost certainly against federal law. Though the president himself is exempt from the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits government employees from participating in campaign activities, White House staffers are not — but participate they did. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]
- Thursday's large, largely unmasked crowd at the White House looked a lot like a public health risk as tens of thousands of new Covid-19 cases are reported daily around the country. Already, four people involved in the in-person component of the RNC Monday have tested positive for the coronavirus. [Politico / Matthew Choi]
- Now, with both party conventions in the rearview mirror, election season is going to crank into (even higher) gear. Biden is expected to hit the campaign trail in person soon, where he will travel to swing states like Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. [Axios / Hans Nichols]
- As things stand, Biden is unquestionably in pole position with less than 70 days to go. His lead over Trump in the FiveThirtyEight national polling average, which has remained fairly steady through the summer, stands at 9.1 points. [FiveThirtyEight]
- And the presidential debates are on the horizon: The first is set to take place in Cleveland on September 29, with two more, plus a VP debate, coming in October. [Vox / Cameron Peters]
| | | From hired to fired in 11 days | | - On Friday, Food and Drug Administration chief Stephen Hahn ousted his top spokesperson, Emily Miller, from the job just 11 days after she started. Miller, who previously worked for the far-right One America News Network, had been appointed by the White House. [NYT / Sheila Kaplan and Katie Thomas]
- Miller's removal follows a firestorm of controversy over the FDA's decision to issue an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a Covid-19 treatment, though it remains unproven. [CNN / Kaitlan Collins and Jim Acosta]
- Hahn had promoted plasma at a White House press conference last Sunday before admitting on Monday that he overstated its effectiveness; after he did so, the contract of an FDA communications consultant who urged Hahn to walk back his original statement was canceled. [Politico / Adam Cancryn and Dan Diamond]
- Dr. Anthony Fauci, among other experts, has expressed skepticism over the justification for an EUA, and existing studies for the efficacy of plasma as a Covid-19 treatment don't meet what Vox's Umair Irfan calls "the gold standard of evidence." [Vox / Umair Irfan]
- The entire saga has been a blow to the FDA's credibility, and it has heightened concerns that the agency is prioritizing politics, not science. [NPR / Richard Harris]
| | | | | | | "Truly incapable of taking personal responsibility for decisions and actions": After a deadly shooting by a self-described militia member in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Facebook employees are running out of patience with Mark Zuckerberg. | | | | | | | | | What's an eight-letter word for a supercontinent that used to cover about one-fifth of Earth's surface? Solve today's new Vox crossword puzzle, and stay tuned for more puzzles coming out Monday through Saturday. | | | | | | | "This abomination may be the most visible misuse of official position for private gain in America's history. It is an abuse of the power entrusted to this man, the breach of a sacred trust. It is the civic equivalent of a mortal sin — maybe a religious one too. And it is a harbinger." | | | | | | | | | | | We are in the midst of an unprecedented triple crisis: a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and a climate crisis each unlike anything we've ever faced. If there is a time to be bold, this is it. [Spotify / Ezra Klein] The Great Rebuild is a new Vox project that imagines how to marshal the power of the federal government and its citizens to fight back against the catastrophic effects of Covid-19, and in the process create a system steeped in fairness, inclusion, and sustainability. Learn more here. | | | | | | | | | | | |  | This email was sent to milburnkennedy@hotmail.com. Manage your email preferences, or unsubscribe to stop receiving all emails from Vox. If you value Vox's unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring contribution. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
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