• In a 70-minute speech from the White House lawn, President Donald Trump accepted the GOP presidential nomination, framing himself as a vanguard against left-wing radicals and a defender of law and order while misrepresenting his own record in tackling the coronavirus pandemic that has taken the lives of nearly 180,000 Americans this year. Ahead of his speech, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, accused the president of failing the American people in a detailed takedown of his response to the coronavirus, calling on the country to hold him accountable for minimizing the pandemic. (The New York Times)

• The Trump administration announced a $750 million agreement to purchase 150 million rapid COVID-19 testing kits Abbott Laboratories in a bid to significantly expand the nation’s testing capabilities. Abbott said it plans to ship tens of millions of tests next month and increase production to 50 million tests in October; that monthly figure would roughly double the number of tests performed in the United States last month. (The Wall Street Journal)

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she offered to reduce her proposed price tag for a coronavirus relief package by $200 billion, to $2.2 trillion, in a bid to restart stalled negotiations, but was rebuffed by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during a 25-minute phone call yesterday. The lack of progress in the talks — the first between the two sides since early August — raises the stakes for negotiations when lawmakers return to the Capitol next month ahead of a Sept. 30 government funding deadline. (Politico)

Trump and Biden look to brutal fall campaign over pandemic, race and the economy
Dan Balz, The Washington Post

With just over 10 weeks until Election Day, the campaign for president turns from a pair of scripted conventions to the trench warfare of mobilizing voters and to the unpredictability of September and October, with the campaign playing out against a backdrop unlike anything seen in modern times. In a month, the first of three presidential debates will be held, scheduled for Sept. 29 in Cleveland.

What virus? At GOP’s convention, pandemic is largely ignored
Jill Colvin, The Associated Press

It was a stunning scene in a country where parents and children have been laid to rest without their loved ones present, schools have gone to online-only learning and businesses have shut their doors to halt the spread of the coronavirus. On Thursday night, about 1,500 people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House so President Donald Trump could accept his party’s nomination for reelection in front of a roaring crowd. 

Kamala Harris slams Trump’s handling of coronavirus: ‘He was scared’
Dan Merica et al., CNN

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris lambasted President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a speech Thursday designed to prebut Trump’s own appearance at the Republican National Convention hours later. Ticking through what she characterized as Trump’s early missteps, she said: “Donald Trump froze. He was scared. And he was petty and vindictive.”

Trump Heads Into General Election Leading a Party He Has Transformed
Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times

President Trump entered the final night of the Republican convention on Thursday after three days of law-and-order rhetoric, making a determined push to change the subject from the coronavirus pandemic and to mark Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee, as a willing partner of the far left. The fourth night of the convention unfolded amid multiple crises churning across the country: Hurricane Laura, a powerful storm, was tearing through parts of the South; wildfires were ravaging Northern California; and tension in the swing state of Wisconsin continued over the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the chaotic protests it set off.

Biden Says Trump Is ‘Rooting for More Violence’ Amid Kenosha Unrest
Katie Glueck et al., The New York Times

Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday accused President Trump of “rooting for more violence” at a moment of national unrest over racism and police brutality, offering one of his most extensive responses yet to the Republican argument that he would be a weak leader on law enforcement and criminal justice.

G.O.P. Convention Skims Over Trump’s ‘Unfinished Business’ in Foreign Policy
Michael Crowley, The New York Times

The Republican National Convention this week has portrayed President Trump as a strong commander in chief facing down enemies and demanding more of allies, but the boastful language has glossed over the grand ambitions of his foreign policy that he has been unable to fulfill.

Is Ivanka Trump Going to Change Anyone’s Mind?
Elaina Plott, The New York Times

On night four of the Republican National Convention, viewers will know her as “The Honorable Ivanka Trump.” The title is a nod to her senior role in the White House (though official titular etiquette is somewhat unclear). 

Robocall targets battleground states with falsehoods about mail-in voting
Meryl Kornfield, The Washington Post

Officials launched an investigation Thursday into what they said was an erroneous, racist robocall aimed at discouraging voters in battleground states from casting their ballots by mail. The recorded message features a woman who says she works for “Project 1599,” founded by the right-wing operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, and falsely warns that personal information of those who vote by mail will be shared with police tracking down warrants and credit card companies collecting outstanding debt, according to recordings of the call reviewed by The Washington Post. 

Biden rejects skipping Trump debates, vows to fact-check
Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says he won’t skip debates with President Donald Trump this fall, vowing he’ll use the opportunity to confront his rival and be a “fact checker on the floor.” Biden said Thursday there’s no question the debates will take place, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters earlier in the day that she didn’t think Biden should debate the president at all.

Room rentals, resort fees and furniture removal: How Trump’s company charged the U.S. government more than $900,000
David A. Fahrenthold et al., The Washington Post

The Secret Service had asked for a room close to the president. But Mar-a-Lago said it was too late. The room was booked. Would agents like a room across the street from the president, instead? “I do have a Beach Cabana available,” a staff member at President Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in March 2017 to a Secret Service agent seeking rooms for the upcoming weekend.

C.D.C.’s ‘Clarification’ on Coronavirus Testing Offers More Confusion
Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking to clarify recommendations on coronavirus testing that incited an uproar, said that “testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable Covid-19 patients.” But his clarification may have further confused the issue.

Top Homeland Security Ethics Officer Warns DHS Employees to Avoid Politics
Rachael Levy, The Wall Street Journal

The Department of Homeland Security sent an email urging employees to stay out of partisan activities after the department’s acting head was featured in the Republican National Convention this week. In a memo emailed on Thursday morning, the department’s top ethics officer Joseph B. Maher addressed all DHS staff, saying that the Hatch Act prohibits them from “conducting any political activity while on duty,” among other restrictions. 

Sports stars’ intensifying activism is a blow to Trump
Nolan D. McCaskill and Meridith McGraw, Politico

President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are pitting themselves against LeBron James and Black athletes, as another police shooting of a Black man propels the country’s sports stars to a new level of political activism. But unlike in 2017, when the president took aim at professional football players who kneeled for the national anthem to protest racial inequality, athletes’ activism in 2020 extends far more broadly, and the Black Lives Matter movement’s resonance across the country is far deeper.

Man shot by Secret Service officer outside White House apparently was holding a comb, documents show
Keith L. Alexander, The Washington Post

A man, who officials said had announced he was armed before he was shot by a Secret Service officer earlier in the month near the White House, was apparently holding a comb, according to new court documents. Myron Berryman, 51, was charged with one count of assault on a police officer in the incident and has been hospitalized since the Aug. 10 shooting.

McConnell: GOP-controlled Senate a ‘firewall’ against Pelosi agenda
Jordain Carney, The Hill

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged Thursday that Republicans, if they keep control of the Senate in November, will be a “firewall” against Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) priorities. “I am immensely proud of the work the Republican Senate has done. We are the firewall against Nancy Pelosi’s agenda. Like President Trump, we won’t be bullied by a liberal media intent on destroying America’s institutions,” McConnell said during taped remarks delivered during the final night of the virtual Republican National Convention.

Pelosi, AOC, Gaetz: The dam is breaking on playing in primary battles
Melanie Zanona and Heather Caygle, Politico

So much for the taboo on wading into primaries. Speaker Nancy Pelosi stunned Democrats (D-Calif.) last week when she backed Rep. Joe Kennedy’s bid to unseat Sen. Ed Markey in a contentious Massachusetts Senate primary.

Japan’s Shinzo Abe sought to revive economy, fulfill conservative agenda
Linda Sieg, Reuters

Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, launched his “Abenomics” policies to lift the economy out of deflation, beefed up Japan’s military and sought to counter China’s growing clout in a historic two-term tenure. Abe has decided to resign due to worsening health, senior officials said on Friday, following days of speculation about his condition.

Trump effort to block subpoena for his financial docs would ‘impair’ probes, Manhattan DA says
Kyle Cheney, Politico

Manhattan prosecutors on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s last-ditch attempts to block a subpoena for the president’s financial records are increasingly meritless and would only serve to “significantly impair” an ongoing investigation into potential financial crimes.

Black National Convention puts spotlight on police brutality
Aaron Morrison, The Associated Press

Black Lives Matter activists are holding their first Black National Convention Friday, a virtual event that will adopt a political agenda calling for slavery reparations, universal basic income, environmental justice and legislation that entirely re-imagines criminal justice reform. The gathering follows Democratic and Republican party conventions that laid out starkly different visions for America.

Iowa judge voids 50,000 absentee ballot applications, prompting county to send new forms
Katelyn Polantz, CNN

A state judge in Iowa’s second-largest county has invalidated more than 50,000 applications for absentee ballots, prompting election officials to re-send applications to thousands of voters because of problems with the original forms. The judge sided with the Trump campaign and the Republican Party, which filed a lawsuit this month seeking to discard the absentee ballot request forms.

DOJ says 74 people facing federal charges for actions committed during Portland protests
Tal Axelrod, The Hill

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that 74 people are facing federal charges stemming from clashes in Portland, Ore., amid protests over systemic racism and police brutality. Portland’s monthslong demonstrations, sparked by the killings of Black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, have largely been peaceful, though have at times turned violent and led to looting and clashes with law enforcement, including federal agents deployed to the city this summer to protect federal property.

In Bid for TikTok, Microsoft Flexes Its Power in Washington
Karen Weise and David McCabe, The New York Times

Microsoft’s quiet pursuit to buy TikTok suddenly appeared dead a month ago, when President Trump said he wanted to ban the popular social media app for national security reasons. So Brad Smith, the tech giant’s president, went to work.

New GOP small business rescue plan sparks lobbying fight
Zachary Warmbrodt, Politico

Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their opening offer for a new round of small business aid in upcoming economic relief legislation, setting off an immediate lobbying push by business groups and other advocates who said the plan was too narrow. The proposal released by Senate Small Business Chair Marco Rubio of Florida would let businesses apply for second Paycheck Protection Program loans.

Biden needs a Sister Souljah moment
George F. Will, The Washington Post

Although tightly scripted to prevent spontaneity from disrupting worship, the Republican National Convention had a suspenseful moment Monday when Vice President Pence spoke. Connoisseurs of his defining rhetorical trope started their stopwatches: Could he talk for 60 seconds without bragging about his humility? He went 58 seconds before saying that being there was “deeply humbling.” Even in today’s turbulence, there is one constant.

Kenosha Tells Us More About Where the Right Is Headed Than the R.N.C. Did
Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times

The most revealing thing to happen in conservative politics this week did not involve the Republican National Convention, at least not directly. Instead, it took place in Kenosha, Wis., in the aftermath of a shooting on Tuesday night that killed two people and wounded a third.

The GOP Tries to Make Its Case
Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal

It was a real insane-a-thon. It was genuinely moving. It didn’t avoid big issues. It led with a lie. It was a success in that it will have pleased the base and done some degree of outreach to others.

The Days of Finely Crafted, Elevated Political Speech Appear to be Numbered
John F. Harris, Politico

So, let’s suppose that you were trying to earn a little income on the side, and took on part-time work as a freelance editor for Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. Your assignment this week and last has been to listen to the Democratic and Republican conventions, and you’ll be paid for every quote that is good enough to be included in the next edition.

Are Election 2020 Poll Respondents Honest About Their Vote?
Leib Litman, CloudResearch

Lately, there’s been considerable debate over the accuracy of presidential polls. While recent polls show Joe Biden ahead, a number of pundits speculate that some Donald Trump supporters may be hesitant to share their true opinions when polled by phone. That hypothesis is gaining traction, leading some to argue that Trump may be leading despite what the latest numbers show. It’s also being fueled by the belief that 2020 will be a repeat of the 2016 election, when Trump polled poorly in advance of the election, but still went on to win the Electoral College vote.