Axios

Sen. Dick Durbin noted this week that the U.S. Immigration Services department screens for affiliations with nazis or totalitarian parties for anyone trying to become a citizen or a permanent resident.

Why it matters: The U.S. already has citizens and residents who have those affiliations, which we saw during the "Unite the Right" rally. Aaron Hall, the Director of Removal, Litigation and Family Immigration at Joseph Law Firm, P.C., told Axios, "For Trump to say there were many fine people there affiliating with nazis is not only reprehensible and bizarre, but it also flies in the face of what we've written into our laws."

As The Atlantic's David A. Graham put it: "These questions are somewhat straightforward: They exclude people based on whether they are members of groups that seek the overthrow of the U.S. government and political system."

The fallout from President Trump's controversial response to the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend dominated the week's headlines. But Trump made some other gaffes this week, which ended in the abrupt resignation of his embattled chief strategist Steve Bannon.

It was another whirlwind week in Trumpland, so let's dive in:

After confirming his White House departure, Bannon told The Weekly Standard on Friday, "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," noting that now that he is gone, it will be "that much harder" for Trump to achieve wins, like the border wall.

"We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It'll be something else. And there'll be all kinds of fights, and there'll be good days and bad days, but that presidency is over."

Bannon predicts that moves coming from the White House are about to get much more "conventional" due to what he predicts will be a flood of moderates on the Hill. "They're not populists, they're not nationalists, they had no interest in his program."

Be smart: Axios' Jonathan Swan says Bannon's comments will enrage Trump, who already thinks Bannon took too much credit for his victory and the movement that propelled it.

Trump approved an Obama-era plan Friday to elevate Cyber Command, currently housed at the National Security Agency (NSA), to be a Unified Combatant Command.

Why it matters: This shows the U.S. is getting serious about dealing with cyber warfare. The move will also help the U.S. bolster its cyber weapons so it can match Russia's capabilities, three U.S. officials told Reuters, and improve America's ability to interfere in foreign adversaries' military programs when necessary.

Effect: This moves shakes Cyber Command up a bit and gives it some operational independence, although it's not entirely separate from the NSA — yet. Trump's announcement raised the possibility that it could eventually be entirely split off, which would grant it new powers as a standalone unit reporting directly to Defense Secretary James Mattis.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin laid out the many events that happened during President Trump's last four weeks from losing the health care fight, to firing and hiring communication's directors, to making up phone calls with the boy scouts and the Mexican president.

Investment manager and GOP megadonor Foster Friess told CNBC's Squawk Box on Friday that President Trump's decision to blame both white nationalist groups and their counter-protesters for last weekend's violence in Charlottesville was correct and the resulting uproar was "politically inspired."

The key quote: "I love Donald Trump. He's become a victim. And he's being bullied. And that's why Americans are flocking to him, because they hate [seeing] people…bullied."

Friess' influence: A supporter of conservative Christian political causes, he helped finance Rick Santorum's presidential run in 2012. He's been active in media as well, investing millions into The Daily Caller.

Mitt Romney urged in a Facebook post Friday that Trump should take "remedial action in the extreme" and "[s]tate forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville."

Key excerpts:

• "Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn."
• "He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize."
• "This is a defining moment for President Trump. But much more than that, it is a moment that will define America in the hearts of our children. They are watching, our soldiers are watching, the world is watching. Mr. President, act now for the good of the country."

A day after a terrorist attack in Barcelona left 14 dead and more than 100 people injured, President Trump slammed "Obstructionist" Democrats and the courts on Twitter for making it "very difficult" for his administration to be tougher on border security:

Susan Bro — the mother of 32-year-old Heather Heyer who was killed Saturday when a man drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville — told Good Morning America Friday that she has changed her opinion of President Trump. "You can't wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying I'm sorry," she said.

Following Trump's Monday statement, where he specifically singled out racist hate groups for being "evil," Bro initially thanked Trump for his "words of comfort." However, once Bro heard Trump's Tuesday statement, where he blamed "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville, Bro said "I have not, and I will not" talk to the president, adding that she doesn't plan to return his phone calls.

"Battling Demons in Community Looking to Trump for Change", from AP's from Aberdeen, Wash.:

• "In Grays Harbor County, a rural community on the coast of Washington state, the rate at which people die from despair — from drugs, alcohol and suicide — is nearly twice the national average."
• "The county embraced Donald Trump's call to America's forgotten corners, and flipped Republican in a presidential election for the first time in 90 years."
• "The logging economy collapsed decades ago and was replaced by a simmering sense of injustice that outsiders took the lumber, built cities around the world and then left the community to decay."
• "Grays Harbor sank into despair. Suicides increased, drug and alcohol abuse rose. A crowded tent city of the desperate and addicted has taken over the riverbank, and some here who are fighting to stay alive worry about losing health coverage that helps them get clean."

Why it matters: "[S]ome maintain confidence that Trump will rise above the chaos to deliver on his pledge to resurrect the American dream. But others fear new depths of hopelessness if he fails."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) has his "full support" ahead of his reelection bid next year, according to an official McConnell Twitter account:

• Timing: Earlier today, Trump tweeted, "Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!"
• Context: Flake opposed Trump during his presidential campaign and in his recent book, "The Conscience of a Conservative," Flake sharply criticized Trump and condemned his party for enabling Trump's rise to the presidency.
• Why it matters: McConnell, who was reportedly livid with the way the president handled the violence in Charlottesville, has been engaged in an ongoing feud with Trump following the president's series of tweets criticizing the Majority Leader's performance. McConnell's latest statement in support of Flake only adds fuel to the fire.