De Santis calls Disney a joke.
JM | April 9, 2023
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RELATED SUBJECTS: Disney, Florida, Miami, Orlando, Ron De Santis
Ron de Santis, the governor of Florida, seems to be going to compete with Donald Trump, to be the Republican candidate for President of the United States, riding on the Disney amusement parks, located in Orlando. At least that is what can be deduced from his last conference, in Michigan, where he announced taxes and even tolls on the roads that go to his theme park. Lest there be any doubt: “We are going to win on every issue that concerns Disney,” he said.
Florida and Disney are obviously at odds. The war started when Disney criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. The law prohibits education on sexual orientation and gender identity for children under the age of nine. Disney, which has become a sort of woke company, opposed the Florida measures, on which it has no role. That sparked the governor’s war on Orlando parks, which have all kinds of tax breaks.
Disney has its parks located in the Reedy Creek District, which is a territory governed by Disney law, without the state even having a fire department.
De Santis calls Disney a joke. “They are not superior to the people of Florida. We are going to beat them in everything.”
“We are going to see not only the self-government agreement for their parks, but also the taxes on their hotels, even the tolls on their roads.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger called De Santis’s politics anti-business and anti-Florida, arguing that the company has the same right to speak as any other individual.