A.G. Gancarski
Ron DeSantis is contending he and his team have “basically moved on” from the controversial feud with The Walt Disney Co., delivering a rhetorical pivot from remarks made over the last year about the Disney-DeSantis beef.
“Look, my wife and I, we got married at Walt Disney World. And so it’s not like we’re opposed. I mean, we’ve appreciated working with them over the years, but I would just say, go back to what you did,” DeSantis said, seemingly referring to the convivial working relationship Florida’s government had with the company before it opposed 2022’s Parental Rights in Education law.
“But where we are today, you know, we basically moved on. They’re suing the state of Florida, they’re going to lose that lawsuit. So what I would say is drop the lawsuit,” the Governor said on CNBC Monday.
Disney claims in a suit filed this spring that the state sought to “weaponize” power against them, choosing to eliminate the state’s special taxing district that it got in 1968 when Florida sought to use the company to catalyze Central Florida development.
The softer tone represents a significant contrast from the Governor’s intransigence in most other comments on the ongoing conflict.
During a July interview on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, the Florida Governor contended rank-and-file Disney workers are with him and not “‘woke’ executives” — comments he bases on the 2022 election.
“The sad part about it, guys, is when we were having this fight with Disney in 2022, most of the employees in their Orlando area theme parks agreed with us,” DeSantis said, using election results to make his point.
“I won Osceola County for the first time a Republican has done in a generation by 7 (percentage points), which is where the majority of Disney employees live,” he added, though it’s a lie to say most voters in the county work for Disney.
Meanwhile, DeSantis’ Never Back Down super PAC has targeted 2024 presidential race opponents Nikki Haley and Donald Trump with ads saying they caved in to the company’s whims.
Earlier this year, DeSantis said the state had every right to do what it wanted on land in the former Reedy Creek Improvement District, now known as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. DeSantis has even joked about the state locking criminals up near Disney World.
“People are like, well, ‘What should we do with this land? Maybe create a state park? Maybe try to do more amusement parks,’” DeSantis said before adding the prison quip. “Somebody even said, ‘Maybe you need another state prison?’ Who knows? I just think that the possibilities are endless, and so that is now going to be analyzed to see what would make the most sense.”
16 comments
Jay Smif
August 14, 2023 at 2:24 pm
Oh Ron, Ron, Ron, you drooling moron – you picked this fight and made it national news, screaming WOKE WOKE WOKE DISNEY at the sky for months.
The Mouse will have his revenge, and hold you personally financially liable for it.
Joe
August 14, 2023 at 2:26 pm
Sounds like some Tiny Gov’s subtly shifting to… BACK DOWN against Disney!
Ocean Joe
August 14, 2023 at 2:29 pm
Never back down just backed down.
But he still can’t admit he abused his authority and subjected not just Disney, but the entire state to a juvenile display of vindictiveness.
Tom
August 14, 2023 at 2:37 pm
I guess Rhonda and Tacky Onassis-Desantis are trying to get back in to redo their vows at Epcot otherwise, why back down now?
Dont Say FLA
August 14, 2023 at 2:41 pm
There’s Gaycakes working hard to unsink the Rhonda Boat.
Yes, Insipid Cow Rhonda should moo-ve on from squabbling over an obscure presser from a private corporation which nobody ever would have heard about but for Rhonda protesting it.
However, Rhonda didn’t moo-ve on for too too long, and at this point it’s far, far too late.
Rhonda refused to move his boat, gave everybody the middle finger along with expletives, and now he wants to move his boat? Now?
Too late Rhonda! Take your GOP Primary pounding like the man Jill is.
Speaking of insipid cows, how’s everybody favorite cow, the Devin Nunes Twitter Cow doing at Musk’s X?
If Musk can get an O, he’ll be on his way to tic tac toe.
Good luck with that, Musk. Oprah will eat you alive, and that is NOT a fat joke.
Ron Made Disney Jesus
August 14, 2023 at 2:45 pm
Woke is where Florida goes to die but Disney came back to life after a few days (of hiding out, pretended to be dead).
Disney is thusly proven by Ron DeSantis to be the second coming.
The rapture shall begin as soon as Palestinian Disneyland is built.
Built it and they will c… ascend. The televangelicals… Those asses will ass-c-end. Cee U Next Time, evangelicals. Adios.
Distancing Himself
August 14, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Ron has moved on because he wants to distance himself from what he says is certain to be legal victory for his position.
LOL. Okay, Ron. Okay.
You actually think you’ll get your first W in the W column, finally, but you are distancing yourself from that?
I don’t think so!
Exactly how stupid does Ron DeSantis think people are?
JD
August 14, 2023 at 5:23 pm
Oh, they’re powerful stupid.
PeterH
August 14, 2023 at 4:33 pm
From this article:
“Look, my wife and I, we got married at Walt Disney World. And so it’s not like we’re opposed. I mean, we’ve appreciated working with them over the years, but I would just say, go back to what you did,”…… DeSantis doesn’t understand that HE HAS NO RIGHT OR AUTHORITY to tell any business ANYWHERE …..what or how to run their operation.
The damage is done! DeSantis can never be elected president. Like he complains about the DOJ …. DeSantis himself has “weaponized” his executive office! DeSantis cannot be trusted.
Chris Bryant
August 14, 2023 at 7:22 pm
He is going to lose the presidential election anyway, so he should just quit that now. Save us all a big headache.
MH/Duuuval
August 14, 2023 at 7:47 pm
Anyone who will challenge Trump from the right should be encouraged, especially since there appears to be growing bad blood.
Ed Ball: Confusion to the enemy!
slb
August 14, 2023 at 7:55 pm
Nope.
I hope Disney burns him down.
Florida is
August 15, 2023 at 3:08 pm
Florida is where woke goes to be gossiped about but then, after two reboots, moved on from.
tom palmer
August 15, 2023 at 4:37 pm
His blithering is embarassing. It appears it has finally dawned on him that this was a misguided campaign and he doesn’t know how to gracefully exit.
Dave Ruben
August 16, 2023 at 9:21 am
So I had wrote “DeSantis decided to change the game. He bucked Disney of its unjust ties with the Florida government by revoking their special privileges with the state. Even though the left and corporate media painted this move as unfair, it wasn’t. He was taking the crony out of crony capitalism and evening the playing field, as is the promise of America.
Republicans have spent years chirping about fighting big government and big corporations, but none have had the guts or political conviction to truly act on these issues. Not even Donald Trump. These “pet Republicans” as I often refer to them on my show, trade short-term election wins – that turn out to be losses – in the exchange for long-term bloated government.”
SCRATCH THAT
Ron is a little Chia Pet Republican after all. Guess I can move back out of Florida now, PTL, it’s terrible here.
Flip Flop Rhonda
August 16, 2023 at 9:26 am
Flip Flop Rhonda says “I previously said how strongly I objected to Disney sexualizing children, but now I say I’ve moved on.”
Of all the topics to flip flop on, Rhonda picked sexualizng children. Wow. Just wow. Is Rhonda going to drag shows now, too?
What do Moms For Liberty think about Rhonda now being okay with Disney sexualizing children?
I bet the MFLs so mad their Botox gonna crack.
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