MSNBC ALEX WAGNER TONIGHT
11/18/24
9:00 PM
ALEX WAGNER: If there is one hallmark of the Trump era, one strategy that has been employed to force through a radical agenda, it might be this one. First articulated by Steve Bannon all the way back in 2018. "The Democrats don't matter," Bannon said. "The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with stuff.” He didn't say "stuff," but you get the idea. Now, Steve Bannon was overstating the role of the media and understating the role of actual Democratic officials, but that "Flood the Zone" approach, that is something we have seen Trump do to great effect over the years. It is not that Trump is some sort of brilliant tactician, but on some level, Trump does seem to realize that the best way to avoid scrutiny is to simply do a whole lot of bad things, all at once, to keep everyone's attention divided.
Something we are seeing play out right now, today, this hour. Today, Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced a bill that would ban transgender people on Capitol Hill from using the bathroom of the gender they identify with. It’s clear that this bill was designed to stoke controversy about Congresswoman-Elect Sarah McBride, who became the first openly transgender person ever elected to Congress in this past election. Under Mace's bill, Congresswoman-Elect McBride would be forced to use the men's room on Capitol Hill. It’s an obviously dehumanizing attempt to bully a new Member of Congress. It’s a clear attempt to gain the spotlight, given the fact that Representative Mace, just three years ago, cosponsored a bill that would have protected transgender people from exactly this kind of discrimination. And here is what she says, now.
REPORTER: Is this effort in response to Congresswoman McBride coming to Congress?
NANCY MACE: Yes, and absolutely. And if McBride wants to go to the gym, she can go to Planet Fitness, where they allow biological men to be around and in a room with private space with underage girls. Like, no thank you. It’s not going to happen, not on my watch.
WAGNER: The irony here is that if there are any alleged or accused sexual predators coming to town in January 2025, they may be two of Trump's own cabinet picks. Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth are both currently fighting allegations of sexual misconduct, allegations that both men deny. But Nancy Mace is worried about transgender people using her bathroom. This is literally what it means to Flood the Zones. We are now talking about Nancy Mace, and transgender panic and not, say, the unfitness of Trump’s Cabinet picks and the very real threats they pose to the agencies they are set to lead.