As the dispute between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to grow and show no signs of stopping, other leaders in the Republican Party are beginning to speak out about the conflict. DeSantis, who is expected to announce a run for the Presidency, has been chastised by other GOP Presidential candidates about the dispute. Now, potential GOP Presidential competitors aren’t the only ones speaking out about this conflict. The Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and Florida Senator Marco Rubio have spoken out as well.
While not necessarily coming out against DeSantis’ position, both lawmakers clearly were looking for the controversy to end.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy shared his thoughts on the matter. “I’d give him the same advice I gave President Biden,” McCarthy said Thursday on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “Why wouldn’t you sit down and negotiate and talk? If there’s differences, you can always find ways that you can solve this problem.”
On Fox News, Rubio shared his thoughts saying, “I think where it gets problematic in the eyes of some people is when you start creating the idea . . . that somehow if you run crossways against us politically, whoever’s in charge, you may wind up in the crosshairs of the legislature for political purposes to make a statement at you.” Rubio also added that “I don’t have a problem with taking on Disney.”
“I do worry that if this happens too many times, businesses that are thinking about coming to Florida are saying ‘Maybe we don’t want to go there because if we get into a firestorm with them politically, they might come after our business,’” Rubio continued. He also said that he thinks DeSantis’ criticisms of Disney are “legitimate.”
The comments come after Disney sued DeSantis and other Florida leaders on Wednesday alleging that he led “a targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
Florida Governor DeSantis initially replied to the lawsuit with a statement that was released by his Communications Director Taryn Fenske. “We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state,” Fenske states. “The lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”
The most recent escalation came after the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District voted to nullify a Development Agreement made between Disney and its predecessor the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Ahead of the vote, DeSantis shared ideas for what could happen with in the District moving forward during a press conference.
“People are like: ‘What should we do with this land?” DeSantis said. “People have said maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks, someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows?”
The Florida State Legislature is also working on legislation to revoke the Development Deal and also minimize the control that Disney has in the District. If Disney wins the lawsuit it has filed with Florida, all of the work of the board, legislature, and Governor could potentially be undone by the courts. However, it doesn’t appear that the dispute would end that easily unless some sort of a deal is made between Disney and DeSantis.
Daps Magic will continue to follow this story and provide updates as they become available. What do you think about the most recent updates in the dispute between Disney and DeSantis? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
