Ron DeSantis’ overseas trip overshadowed by Disney fight

Gov. Ron DeSantis hoped his first international trade mission would generate lucrative business deals and boost his foreign policy resume ahead of an expected presidential run. Instead, he faced questions about losing ground to former President Donald Trump and being taken to court by Walt Disney World.

The trip reflected the intensifying pressure confronting DeSantis as some of his allies grow increasingly anxious about his White House prospects. Within a few short years, he rose from relatively a relatively obscure congressman to Trump’s leading Republican rival by embracing the former president’s cultural grievances without the constant tumult.

But it turns out DeSantis isn’t immune from drama. Facing questions this week about his standing within the GOP and his fight with Disney, he’s sometimes appeared agitated, reinforcing concerns within corners of his own party about his readiness for the rigor of presidential politics. Some in the GOP said that rather than burnish his image as a fighter, the confrontation with Disney over an anti-LGBTQ law and the theme part’s right to self-govern is becoming a distraction.

“My goal would be for this spat to end. They’ve been our longtime partner,” said Republican state Sen. Joe Gruters, the immediate past chair of the state GOP and a Trump supporter. “We should be focused in a positive way on helping our job creators.”

Speaking in Israel, DeSantis expressed confidence in his actions and showed no sign of letting the Disney issue go.

“I don’t think the suit has merit, I think it’s political,” said DeSantis, whose political team has used the Disney fight to raise money. “The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida.”

The fight has been going on for more than a year. It began when Disney spoke out against legislation that would prevent discussion of sexual preference and gender identity in grades K-3. DeSantis responded by accusing Disney of being “woke” and calling lawmakers to Tallahassee to punish Disney by stripping it of a decades-old right to make development and expansion decisions on its own.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said last year when he announced plans to get back at Disney. And in his new book, he boasted about outsmarting the company.

But some are questioning who is outsmarting whom as Disney waited until the governor was out of the country before suing him, claiming that he’s retaliating against the state’s largest private employer for simply speaking an opinion.

Democratic state Sen. Linda Stewart, whose district is near Disney, said she understands that DeSantis made big headlines when he first stood up to Disney, and that it rallied his core supporters. But the longer the feud drags on, the more it could backfire.

“I’m betting on Disney. They probably have more money and lawyers than the state of Florida,” Stewart said. “As he progresses on, people are getting mad at him. The citizens of Florida do not like him going after family-friendly economic development for the community. People don’t want government involved in business.”

Stewart says DeSantis’ anti-Disney comments are getting more petty. The governor this month pointed out that the Disney district the state took over controls a lot of undeveloped land. He told reporters the land could go to a prison, a competing theme park or some other project.

“Really? A prison? A nuclear plant? A new theme park? I mean, what kind of rationale is he putting out there?” Stewart said. “It doesn’t even make any sense.”

There’s an open question of whether the continuation of the Disney fight will dent DeSantis’ political standing. Now that it’s in court, the lawsuit will keep popping up in headlines if DeSantis eventually enters the presidential race.

DeSantis’ own U.S. senator and predecessor as governor, Republican Rick Scott, told Fox Business he agrees with DeSantis on the law Disney spoke out against, but he said he hopes the feud will die down.

“What I hope is that cooler heads are going to prevail here,” Scott said Wednesday. “We’ve got to figure out how to solve this problem, how to make sure Disney continues to grow in our state, how Disney continues to invest and add more jobs.”