Axios

Roughly 17 million people watched the first night of the Republican National Convention on television during the primary speech hours between 10 p.m.-11 p.m. EST Monday night, according to Nielsen ratings.

Why it matters: That's down more than 26% from the number of TV viewers for the first night of the 2016 RNC. It's also 13% lower than the number of TV viewers who watched the first night of the Democratic National Convention last week.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) top legal adviser Tony Pham will be the agency's next top official, after current acting director Matthew Albence retires, according to an email sent to Department of Homeland Security employees Tuesday.

Between the lines: Pham and his family came to the U.S. as Vietnamese refugees in 1975 and became citizens 10 years later, according to his bio on DHS' website.

House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill on Tuesday designed to counter President Trump's "politicization of the Postal Service" on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The bill follows Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's combative testimony before Maloney's committee on Monday, where he testified that he would not reverse the operational changes that have reportedly caused widespread mail delays ahead of the 2020 election.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican nominee for Georgia's 14th Congressional District, said in a tweet on Tuesday that President Trump has invited her to the White House to attend his acceptance speech on Thursday evening.

Why it matters: Greene has repeatedly made offensive remarks about Black people, Jews and Muslims in Facebook videos, and she has publicly supported the QAnon movement and other far-right conspiracy theories.

Jacob Blake's mother, Julia Jackson, implored Kenosha residents on Tuesday to bring an end to the violence that followed the police-shooting of her son, adding, "We really just need prayers."

Why it matters: Kenosha, Wisconsin, has been in a state of chaos since police shot Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, eight times — months after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Protests have consumed Kenosha with calls for racial justice and an end to police brutality.

A big story that slipped under the radar during last night's RNC: The FDA commissioner apologized for overselling the benefits of convalescent plasma for treating the coronavirus.

Why it matters: The FDA is supposed to be a Switzerland of neutrality within government, able to act based on science instead of pressure from politicians and big business.

The Biden campaign said in a statement Tuesday that the Chinese government's oppression of Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the northwest region of Xinjiang is "genocide," and that Joe Biden "stands against it in the strongest terms."

Why it matters: Genocide is a serious crime under international law, and the U.S. government has adopted the formal label only on rare occasions after extensive documentation.

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is launching an investigation into Secretary of State Pompeo's address to the Republican National Convention for potentially violating rules that prohibit federal employees from engaging in certain political activities, The Daily Beast first reported.

Why it matters: Pompeo's decision to deliver his speech from Jerusalem breaks from the precedent of America's top diplomat staying out of partisan battles. Internal State Department memos approved by Pompeo himself have warned employees — and specifically Senate-confirmed officials — not to attend political conventions, Politico reports.

New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and President Trump of turning the U.S. Postal Service into "a political football set to undermine a federal election" in a lawsuit seeking to block changes to postal policies that was filed Tuesday.

The big picture: More Americans than ever are expected to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic, even as Trump has continually claimed without evidence that increased mail-in voting will lead to widespread voter fraud. He has pledged to block funding for mail-in voting and the USPS.

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security, claimed in a political ad released Tuesday that President Trump offered to "pardon U.S. government officials for breaking the law to implement his immigration policies."

Why it matters: Taylor, who quit the Trump administration in 2019 and endorsed Joe Biden last week, is one of a number of Republicans seeking to stop the president's re-election. Trump denied that he offered pardons to immigration officials when the allegations were first reported by the Washington Post and New York Times in August 2019.

White House economic adviser Peter Navarro said on Tuesday that recommendations from health experts that convalescent plasma undergo a randomized trial as a COVID-19 treatment before receiving an emergency authorization are a "crazy talking point."

Why it matters: Top federal health officials urged the FDA last week to hold off on issuing an emergency use authorization for the safe, but unproven treatment, but the agency went ahead with it on Sunday amid pressure from Navarro and Trump.

President Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he will nominate acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf to be the permanent head of the agency.

Why it matters: It's been more than 500 days since a Senate-confirmed secretary led the Department of Homeland Security — a record for any administration.

RNC week: On Tuesday, August 25 Axios Cities author Kim Hart and Axios politics and White House editor Margaret Talev hosted a conversation on North Carolina's broadband access and economic recovery amid the coronavirus, featuring Reenie Askew, Charlotte's chief information officer, and Thomas Parrish, North Carolina's acting secretary and state chief information officer.

Thomas Parrish discussed bridging the digital divide in North Carolina, focusing on current investments in Wi-fi hotspots. The state is allocating $30 million to distribute 100k hotspots with continuous high speed and unlimited data for all students in the state.

• On investing in the future of connectivity: "If you look at Europe...these countries are investing billions of dollars in their infrastructure to make sure people are connected...I think what we're finally seeing in the United States and in North Carolina is that we need to make that investment, because if we're connected, that means we're ready for tomorrow."
• On internet access in rural communities: "We're trying to leverage as much of the existing infrastructure as we can...working with local businesses, working with nonprofits, working with other departments like our Parks System...to get that connectivity out to our rural communities."

Reenie Askew focused on how internet connectivity is critical for education and workforce development, highlighting a city government partnership with school districts, nearby community colleges and other businesses to provide 15 spaces for public WiFi.

• On the importance of providing free public Wi-fi: "If you have to make a decision between taking care of your expenses and food, education, and Internet — Internet would not be at the top of the list."
• On the connection between accessible Internet and education: "The educational divide increases if we don't have the ability for everyone to be able to not just connect, but do it effectively from home. And so if we're unable to do that, then students who don't have access fall further behind and that we don't need to have."

Thank you Microsoft for sponsoring this event.

Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) and Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) are introducing a bipartisan resolution on Tuesday that would condemn the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon.

Why it matters: The vote would put lawmakers on the record on whether they repudiate QAnon, which baselessly claims that a powerful cabal of pedophiles and cannibals within the "deep state" is engaged in a global fight to take down President Trump.

TV viewership for the Democratic National Convention was down about 17% on average this year across all four nights compared to 2016.

Why it matters: The drop is likely attributable, at least in part, to the virtual nature of the convention and the plethora of streaming and digital viewing options that exist today.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) told NBC's "Today" on Tuesday that he believes mail-in voting during the 2020 election "will prove to work out just fine."

Why it matters: President Trump has continually claimed without evidence that increased mail-in voting amid the coronavirus pandemic will lead to widespread voter fraud. He has pledged to block funding for mail-in voting and the U.S. Postal Service.

The U.S. "disrupted a concerted effort to undermine the midterm elections" in 2018, writes NSA Director and head of U.S. Cyber Command Paul Nakasone, along with senior Cyber Command adviser Michael Sulmeyer, in Foreign Affairs.

Why it matters: Nakasone and Sulmeyer reveal that lessons from those incidents are being used to protect November's election from foreign interference.

The opening night of the Republican National Convention delighted President Trump's base with an alternative narrative where he masterfully deflected COVID, he's popular with Black Americans, and Joe Biden is a menacing leftist.

Why it matters: Although CNN and MSNBC cut away for fact checks, this week's convention gives the Trump campaign hour upon hour to show millions of viewers an America as Trump sees it.

"Hoax," the book about Fox News out today by CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter, has gotten so much online and TV buzz that the publisher is rushing to print 100,000 more hardcovers, for a total of 150,000.

The state of play: The book from One Signal/Atria, part of Simon & Schuster, has occupied the #1 slot on Amazon the past three days.

MSNBC and CNN cut away from live coverage of the Republican National Convention several times on Monday night in order to fact-check claims made by speakers. Fox News also cut away from several speeches, but didn't fact-check claims as aggressively.

Why it matters: There's been an ongoing debate amongst media insiders — and an advocacy campaign from progressive groups — about whether news networks should feel compelled to cut away from the RNC.

Using his social media megaphone, President Trump has pushed once-fringe beliefs into the consciousness of everyday Americans.

The big picture: The coronavirus "infodemic" that has flooded the internet with misinformation and conspiracy theories has worn down people's already faltering trust in institutions, making it easier for fringe ideas spread by the president to go viral ahead of the election.

In an effort to lure voters around issues like race relations, the Trump campaign has poured big money into Facebook ads about criminal justice reform.

Why it matters: It's a huge departure from his months-long campaign strategy of targeting hard-line supporters with ads discussing topics like the "fake news" media and immigration.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said while the 2020 election is between President Trump and Joe Biden, "it is not solely about Donald Trump and Joe Biden. It's about the promise of America."

The big picture: Scott, the only Black GOP senator in Congress, headlined the first night with Donald Trump Jr. In his speech, Scott attacked presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and accused Democrats of campaigning on a "cultural revolution" for a "fundamentally different America."

Donald Trump Jr. touted his father's response to the coronavirus pandemic and invoked the idea of "cancel culture" in his headline speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday.

Details: He warned that "Joe Biden and the radical left are also now coming for our freedom of speech and want to bully us into submission," adding:  "If they get their way, it will no longer be the 'silent majority,' it will be the "silenced majority.'"

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley painted President Trump as the right choice for foreign policy in her speech at the Republican National Convention on Monday, saying that "Trump has always put America first."

The big picture: Haley resigned from the Trump's administration in 2018, after taking the ambassador position just four days after the president's inauguration. She has stood by Trump following her tenure and told NBC last year that she never had any doubts about his truthfulness or fitness for office.

FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a Twitter thread Monday night criticisms of his comments about granting an emergency use authorization (EUA) of convalescent plasma as a treatment for the coronavirus were "entirely justified."

The big picture: Hahn also addressed in his post the politicization of the FDA, in an apparent reference to President Trump and his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, accusing senior health officials of being part of the "Deep State" amid a decision to put the plasma treatment on hold.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey, attorneys charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon after they pulled guns on anti-racism protesters outside of their mansion in June, spoke at the Republican National Convention on Monday.

Why it matters: The McCloskeys argued that Black Lives Matter protesters and liberal radicals would "abolish the suburbs all-together" if they gained power in "Joe Biden's party" — boosting President Trump's campaign effort to stoke fears of lawless cities and an end to what he's called the “Suburban Lifestyle Dream.”

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said at the Republican National Convention on Monday night that "Democrats refuse to denounce the mob."

What he's saying: Jordan targeted his statements at the Democratic Party and what President Trump has done to improve the country. "I love the president’s intensity and his willingness to fight," he said. "But what I also appreciate is something most Americans never see — how much he truly cares about people.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) stoked fears while speaking at the Republican National Convention Monday night, saying Democrats will "disarm you, empty the prisons, lock you in your home and invite MS-13 to live next door."

What he's saying: Gaetz, one of President Trump's top allies, focused on what an America under Joe Biden would look like.

PAC American Bridge 21st Century released an ad Monday featuring President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen ahead of the Republican National Convention in which he says Trump "can't be trusted."

Why it matters: Cohen was part of Trump's inner circle for years, calling himself a "fixer" for the president. He is now telling Americans not to vote for Trump in the fall. Other Republicans have come out campaigning against Trump, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.