As if the Republican presidential nomination battle isn’t petty enough, former President Donald Trump is raising the ante and muddling the clarity of his position in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ feud with The Walt Disney Company.
Trump, seemingly echoing DeSantis’ sentiment on Disney, posted on his Truth Social that the entertainment giant has become “a Woke and Disgusting shadow of its former self,” without specifying a particular issue. He then urged the corporation to return to “what it once was,” again without elaborating, and warned that if they did not, the “market” would cause “irreparable damage.”
But who is Trump blaming for Disney going “woke”? DeSantis.
“This all happened during the Governorship of ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious,” Trump wrote, also adding that DeSantis is just using the feud with Disney for “publicity reasons only.”
This comes after DeSantis appeared on Fox & Friends, claiming that Trump has “taken the side of Disney” while he is “standing for parents” and children.
“I think a multi-billion dollar company that sexualizes children is not consistent with the values of Florida,” DeSantis said.
Trump immediately responded via his Truth Social, saying Fox News should have read his post regarding Disney but “that’s not the game they play.” He then rambled on numbers of how he’s beating his Republican opponent, as well as President Joe Biden, in the polls.
Poll aggregator RealClearPolitics has Trump leading Biden by 1.4% if the elections were held last week and he is leading DeSantis by 30.8% for the Republican nomination.
It wasn’t clear which Truth Social post Trump referring to that Fox should go back to show that the former president is not siding with Disney. But in his April post on Truth Social, it appeared that Trump sided with Disney in its feud with the Florida governor, writing ““DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney.” The remark came as DeSantis outlined new restrictions aimed at Disney’s Florida theme park and resort.
“Disney’s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”
Which is what Disney did after when they canceled plans to develop a nearly $1 billion corporate campus in Florida that would have employed 2,000 people.
The Trump team replied to this development by sending out an email with the subject “President Trump is always right,” which was followed by a screenshot of Trump’s April post.
This online spat between two politicians gunning for the highest government position in the United States comes after Trump made a fake video making fun of DeSantis’ technical difficulty-riddled presidential run announcement on Twitter Spaces.
Disney and DeSantis have been at odds since March 2022, when Disney’s then-CEO Chapek denounced legislation in Florida that would limit discussion of gender identity and sexuality in elementary classrooms.
The Florida governor then attempted to deprive Disney of its long-standing self-governing control over Walt Disney World in Orlando. The governor said that “woke Disney” should not be treated differently in the state.
The entertainment giant filed a lawsuit in April against the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, alleging that he had subjected the company to a “targeted campaign of government retaliation.”
The entertainment conglomerate wants a court to quash the state’s efforts to manage Walt Disney World in Orlando. The complaint was filed only minutes after a DeSantis-appointed monitoring board voted to overturn February agreements that permitted the firm to develop the theme park while maintaining control over adjoining properties.
The 2024 Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held July 15 to 18, 2024 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Information for this story was found via Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
