The dead cat strategy, also known as deadcatting, is the political strategy of deliberately making a shocking announcement to divert media attention away from problems or failures in other areas.[1][2] The present name for the strategy has been associated with British former prime minister Boris Johnson’s political strategist Lynton Crosby.
Recent articles have labeled Trump’s strategy as “flood the zone,” which I think is more accurate than “deadcatting.” His administration’s announcements are not a series of dead cats because they actually want to do all the crazy stuff they’re spouting off about. The goal is to keep doing so many big, outrageous things that nobody can keep up. By the time anyone has time to process issue A they are already being distracted by issues B through F. And in the mean time the world’s news media is constantly reporting on Trump’s latest thing, so Trump’s base gets the impression that he’s working tirelessly for them.