Disney lawsuit spurs DeSantis criticism from GOP presidential candidates

Walt Disney Co. sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday, and Republican 2024 presidential hopefuls wasted no time in turning the clash between the entertainment giant and the conservative governor into campaign attacks — even though DeSantis has not officially launched a presidential bid.

Disney is suing DeSantis, who is expected to announce his 2024 candidacy in the coming weeks, over what it calls a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power.” The lawsuit marks an escalation of a year-long clash over Disney’s criticism of a controversial education law championed by DeSantis.

A DeSantis spokeswoman called Disney’s lawsuit “another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters” and circumvent state law. “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,” said Taryn Fenske, communications director for the governor’s office.

While Disney’s theme parks and resorts in Florida draw millions of guests each year and the company employs 75,000 people in the state, DeSantis expressed outrage that the company criticized the education bill and turned to the state’s Republican-controlled legislature to help him rein in the entertainment giant.

After state lawmakers last year dissolved a special taxing district created in 1967 to help Disney develop and control its vast property near Orlando, the legislators also voted to replace the district’s board with members picked by DeSantis. The newly installed panel, however, learned the outgoing Disney board handed most of its power to Disney for years to come.

On Wednesday, DeSantis’s handpicked panel voted to overturn that move, and Disney filed its lawsuit.

GOP presidential hopefuls took the filing as an opportunity to criticize DeSantis, who, despite not being in the race, consistently polls in the No. 2 spot behind former president Donald Trump.

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley (R), who served as United Nations ambassador under Trump, said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News that Disney — and its jobs and revenue — would be welcome in her state.

“Businesses were my partners,” she said. “Because if you take care of your businesses, you take care of your economy. Your economy takes care of the people and everyone wins.”

And GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who calls “wokeism” a national threat, said in an interview with The Washington Post that Disney’s lawsuit is “a big L” for Florida’s governor.

“I think he plays the game of shortermism” by fighting Disney over a handful of special privileges, he said.

Notably missing from the conversation on Disney’s lawsuit was Trump, the front-runner in the Republican race and someone who has antagonized DeSantis ahead of a potential primary battle. A spokesman for the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, the publisher of the conservative site the Bulwark, warned that other Republican 2024 hopefuls are making a mistake by targeting DeSantis and his Disney battle instead of focusing on Trump.

Longwell said she’s seen this happen before — in 2015 and 2016, when the large swath of GOP presidential hopefuls “went after Jeb Bush, they went after each other, and nobody went after Donald Trump until it was much too late. And, for some reason, they’re doing it again.”

“What it demonstrates is that these other candidates are afraid of Donald Trump, but they’re not afraid of Ron DeSantis,” she said. “So they’d rather pick fights with Ron DeSantis, just like Ron DeSantis would rather pick fights with Disney than with Trump.”

Lori Roza contributed to this report.