The battle between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney is heating up once again.
Reedy Creek
The new DeSantis-appointed board of supervisors has called for legal action against Disney after discovering the agreements Disney made with the former board for the Reedy Creek Improvement District (now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District). These agreements gave Disney power in the District moving forward even though the new board had taken over. DeSantis recently revealed his next steps in the fight against Disney which include a bill that would void Disney’s agreements.
This battle has gained more and more attention in the news lately, and now we are seeing some outside political figures make comments on the situation.
Reedy Creek
On Tuesday, April 18th, former President Donald Trump criticized the DeSantis and Disney fight in a Truth Social post. According to Politico, Trump said DeSantis is being “absolutely destroyed by Disney.”
Trump continued saying, “Disney’s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor. In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing. Watch! That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT! Ron should work on the squatter MESS!”
©Governor Ron DeSantis Website
Former New York Times reporter and writer Stuart Elliott also commented on Disney’s role in Florida. His post on Twitter reads, “Who else thinks Disney should call DeSantis’ bluff and announce it’s closing Disney World and re-creating it in another, more welcoming state, whose residents will get first crack at all the jobs?”
Who else thinks Disney should call DeSantis' bluff and announce it's closing Disney World and re-creating it in another, more welcoming state, whose residents will get first crack at all the jobs? https://t.co/uLocxOBxeG
— Stuart Elliott (@stuartenyt) April 18, 2023
In a recent Annual Shareholders Meeting with The Walt Disney Company back on April 5th, Disney CEO Bob Iger addressed the situation and commented on Disney’s role in Florida. He said, “We love the state of Florida. I think that’s reflected in not only how much we’ve invested over the last 50 years, but how much we’ve given back in the form of jobs, and community service, taxes…tourism of course, and all sorts of other responsible business practices.” Iger also noted that “a company has a right to freedom of speech just like individuals do.” Read his full remarks on the topic here.
©Disney
Politico also mentioned that Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had some things to say about the feud. Christie said, “That’s not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi [Jinping] … or sitting across from [President Vladimir] Putin and trying to resolve what’s happening in Ukraine, if you can’t see around a corner [Disney CEO] Bob Iger created for you.”
DeSantis signing the new bill
Scott Dworkin, the Co-Founder of the Democratic Coalition, also had some words to say about DeSantis. On April 17th, he posted on Twitter saying, “One can bet Disney/allies of Disney have private investigators looking into everything DeSantis has ever done. Into every dime he’s ever spent or received.” He then said, “This is a fight DeSantis will lose. I think Disney will cause his downfall, if Trump doesn’t beat them to it.”
DeSantis threatened to put a prison next to Disney World.
One can bet Disney/allies of Disney have private investigators looking into everything DeSantis has ever done. Into every dime he’s ever spent or received.
This is a fight DeSantis will lose.
I think Disney will cause… pic.twitter.com/7LxCZYzish
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) April 17, 2023
Dworkin also mentioned “DeSantis threatened to put a prison next to Disney World” which refers to a comment DeSantis made in a press conference on April 17th. Disney owns a lot of the land around the District, however, the District does own some land next to the land owned by Disney. At the press conference, DeSantis said he originally “wasn’t even thinking about that land” but now that they are in this position, the Governor said the people have been wondering “‘what should we do with this land?’”
According to DeSantis, a number of potential ideas have been suggested — he went on to say “People have said…maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks…maybe you need another state prison. Who knows?” Nothing is set in stone, but this is the threat that Dworkin referenced in his Tweet.
Obtained via ClickOrlando Livestream
Rollins College professor Richard Foglesong — who wrote about Disney World’s governance in the book “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando” criticized DeSantis’ actions according to NPR. Foglesong said, “He’s talking like Bernie, the socialist. What Republican candidate for major office talks like this?” This is in reference to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
The DeSantis and Disney Reedy Creek situation continues to change, and we’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest.
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Just stay out of the politics, you see what happened to the Beer company. I don’t plan on visiting DW in the near future, and that makes me sad.
I love how he thought this was a victory but very obvious didn’t read the agreement and now he realised he was the loser in this battle. A sore loser on top of that too.
Imagine signing an agreement and the complaining about because you didn’t read it!
I can’t believe this! I’m totally agreeing with Trump’s comments
Comments from Trump and DeSantis is like listening to Harry Hune and Lloyd Christmas discuss peace plans for the Middle East.
Why doesn’t” DeSantis just write a bill declaring himself Supreme Dictator of The United States and be done with all the squabbling?
No body has been able to vote on any bills he has invoked so far.