Ron DeSantis defends his fight against Disney at campaign launch
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis defended his administration’s fight with multinational Disney on the day he launched his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Asked if his administration may have taken the fight too far and too long against Disney, DeSantis said he stands by his decision to rescind the company’s special self-governing status and that Disney has stepped up. the struggle when they filed suit against his administration. The governor said:
Florida is synonymous with child protection. We believe that the blurring of gender ideology in primary school is a mistake. Disney obviously supported the introduction of gender ideology in elementary school. They opposed our parents’ rights legislation, and the thing is, when they opposed it, it was a big deal, because for 50 years every time Disney wanted something in politics from Florida they pretty much got it, but not this time.
DeSantis then said Disney’s corporate culture continues to project a desire to push adult sexuality onto children, causing his administration to reconsider the special benefits the company has received from the state of Florida.
“I signed the invoice. We have, as you say, won on the issue. But what happened was Disney’s posturing, some of the other statements that their executives were making, kind of a corporate culture, had really been exposed as trying to inject gender issues into the programming to young people,” he said.
“Disney designed decades ago where they actually had their own government that they controlled without any accountability. JThey were exempt from laws that all of their competitors had to follow, massive tax breaks, and they even racked up municipal debt,” he said. “Florida basically put them on a pedestal decades ago and joined the state with this one company at their hip.”
“We just didn’t feel comfortable maintaining this relationship,” he continued. ” And so we ended their autonomy status. Disney must therefore live under the same laws as everyone else. They have to pay the same taxes as everyone else and obviously they will be responsible for those debts.
DeSantis blamed Disney for keeping the “fight” going by filing a lawsuit, which he called a move to protect its shareholders.
“I think the philosophy of the business has changed in a way that has alienated a lot of people in our legislature and in Florida, and so there was really no justification for keeping it. But don’t get me wrong, tthey are suing to try to get special privileges,” he said. “People make money in Florida because we have a great business climate. It’s not good enough for them. They want to be treated differently from Universal and Seaworld, aAnd we don’t think that’s appropriate.
“I think they should withdraw the lawsuit, but obviously we’re going to defend our actions because we believe we have the right to do what we did,” he added.
DeSantis also accused the media of hypocrisy for criticizing his decision, given that they cast an uncomfortable shadow over Disney’s special relationship with Florida for years.
“The media has always been very hostile to this. But just because I’m involved in bringing him back to reality and making sure they were under the same laws… Well, all of a sudden they’re running to Disney’s defense. I mean, are you kidding?” he said.
DeSantis closed by acknowledging the amount of money Disney has made under his tenure as governor, such as when he kept Florida theme parks open during the coronavirus pandemic while Governor Gavin Newsom (D) in California kept closed.
“I would also like to finally point out that probably nobody made more money at Disney than me because they were open during COVID and they were closed in California,” he said. “And that went on for many, many months, where literally I opened every theme park in Florida in 2020. People go there, for sure, they have fun and california parks have been closed. I think they have been closed for over a year in California.
As Breitbart News previously reported, Disney CEO Bob Iger accused Ron DeSantis of stifling the company’s free speech and further claimed that the company’s special status benefits the public. State of Florida.
“It’s not about special privileges or a level playing field or Disney using its influence around the state of Florida in any way,” he said. “But since there has been a lot of talk about the special districts and the arrangement we had, I also want to set the record straight.”
“There are approximately 2,000 special districts in Florida, and most were created to encourage investment in development,” he continued. “It has made it easier for us and others to do business in Florida. And we’ve built a business that employs, as we’ve said before, over 75,000 people and brings tens of millions of people to the state. So while it’s easy to say that the Reedy Creek Special District that was created for us over 50 years ago has benefited us, it’s misleading not to consider how much Disney has benefited (from ) the state of Florida.
Disney filed a lawsuit against the DeSantis administration in April, arguing that removing the company’s special status violated its First Amendment rights. The company has strongly opposed the administration’s anti-groomer law, misleadingly dubbing it the “Don’t Say Gay Law” and slandering millions of Floridians as homophobic bigots for not wanting to discuss sex with people. children as young as six years old.
“This is one thing and one thing only, and it is retaliation against us for taking a stand on pending legislation,” Iger said. “And we believe that in taking this position, we are simply exercising our right to free speech.”
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also led the award-winning feature filmEXAMPLE, visible on tube, google play, YouTube movies, Or Vimeo on demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
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