Flood the zone

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"Flood the zone" is a political strategy in which a political figure aims to gain media attention, disorient opponents and distract the public from undesirable reports by rapidly forwarding large volumes of newsworthy information to the media. [1] [2] [3] [4] The strategy has been attributed to U.S. president Donald Trump's former chief political strategist Steve Bannon. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

The strategy came to public light after Bannon told Michael Lewis in 2018 that "The Democrats don't matter... The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit". Trump adopted the strategy during the 2016 presidential election, [3] [7] followed by other right-wing political figures such as Éric Zemmour and Elon Musk. [8] [9] [1] [10]

History

Usage by Stephen Miller

Comparaisons between numbers of first-day executive orders President Donald Trump has signed the most first-day executive orders of recent presidents. First-day executive orders by previous ten presidents, 1969-2025.png
Comparaisons between numbers of first-day executive orders

The beginning of Trump's second presidency is largely recognized as the one theorized by political strategist Steve Bannon, here deployed by Stephen Miller. The administration had already prepared diverse executive orders to allow the signing of 55 executives orders in 20 days, which frequency is never-before-seen. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Use of the strategy by Democrats

During Trump's second term, Democrats began adopting Bannon's strategy. [16] Democratic leader and representative Maxwell Frost called for the party to "flood the zone" by "Communicat[ing] often, all the time, about what’s going on with a very simple message that the reason [Republicans] want to cut Medicaid, the reason they want to cut food stamps, is because they want to give billionaires a tax cut". [17]

Jeffries speaking at the U.S. Capitol in March 2025 2025-03-26 Welcome Back Congress Rally Washington DC 10-33-45 1.jpg
Jeffries speaking at the U.S. Capitol in March 2025

Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries called for the party to adopt a "more is more" strategy and be more active on social media. He also began holding more press conferences at the Capitol and appearances on podcasts. [18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Le conseil de Steve Bannon: «Inondez la zone avec de la m…»". Le Temps (in French). 2020-09-26. ISSN   1423-3967 . Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  2. "Trump's 'Flood the Zone' Strategy Leaves Opponents Gasping in Outrage". 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  3. 1 2 Stelter, Brian (2021-11-16). "This infamous Steve Bannon quote is key to understanding America's crazy politics". CNN. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  4. 1 2 "Steve Bannon is in prison, but Trump is using his 'flood the zone' media strategy". The Hill. 2024-10-14. Archived from the original on 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  5. "Mark Carney is flooding the zone. This is what he could be trying to distract us from". Toronto Star. 2025-11-10. Retrieved 2025-11-19.
  6. Wirestone, Clay (2024-05-06). "Kansas GOP leaders follow Bannon's advice for manipulating media: 'Flood the zone with s***' • Kansas Reflector". Kansas Reflector. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  7. Illing, Sean (2020-01-16). ""Flood the zone with shit": How misinformation overwhelmed our democracy". Vox. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  8. Montgomery, Blake (2025-02-11). "How Musk and Trump are flooding the zone". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  9. "Musk's strategy is becoming clearer: Flood the zone with BS". The Independent. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  10. Serhan, Yasmeen (2021-10-27). "The Trump Playbook Hits France". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2025-11-20.
  11. Samuels, Brett (2025-01-29). "Trump's flood-the-zone strategy delights MAGA". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  12. ""Submerger" pour mieux régner : la stratégie du chaos de Donald Trump pour paralyser ses adversaires". Franceinfo (in French). 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  13.  Inonder la zone », cette stratégie derrière les annonces tonitruantes de Donald Trump". Le HuffPost (in French). 2025-02-06. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  14. Dugua, Pierre-Yves (2025-02-11). "«Inonder la zone» : chez Donald Trump, une hyperactivité antiwoke pour déboussoler l'opposition". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  15. Parti, Alex Leary, Josh Dawsey and Tarini (2025-02-16). "Trump Steamrolls Critics With Flood-the-Zone Strategy". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2025-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. "How Democrats are trying to turn MAGA's 'flood the zone' strategy against Trump". The Independent. 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  17. Lillis, Mike (2025-06-01). "Frustrated Democrats try new response to Trump barrage: Flood the zone right back". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2025-08-25. Retrieved 2025-11-21.
  18. "'More is more': Hakeem Jeffries pushes Democrats to flood the zone in opposition to Trump". NBC News. 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2025-11-21.