Get the latest market trends in your inbox
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with the Axios Markets newsletter. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul
Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg
Protesters gathered in Black Lives Matter plaza and people attending Trump's acceptance speech in Washington D.C. on Aug. 27. Photos: Left, Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images; right, Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump will officially accept the Republican nomination for president before a crowd of more than 1,000 people on the White House South Lawn Thursday night. Meanwhile, demonstrators gathered outside in Lafayette Park to protest his administration.
Why it matters: The president's re-election campaign and the Republican National Convention have essentially transformed the South Lawn of the White House into a political stage.
Between the lines, via Axios' Margaret Talev: By packing in an audience of more than 1,000 guests, inches not feet apart, most without masks, the president is portraying an image of the U.S. with the pandemic under control and moving past it — when that’s not what the statistics show or public health officials are advising at all.