Their divorce is definitively consummated. Disney filed a complaint on Wednesday against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, equating the measures of the tenor of the American hard right, who ended the special status of the company in his state, to a campaign of “targeted revenge” against the band. A showdown that Donald Trump and other Republicans are beginning to criticize, while DeSantis, who is making the suspense last over a possible presidential candidacy, is seen as Trump’s most dangerous opponent.
The governor has made the fight against “wokism” one of his main battlegrounds: he accuses a group of “elites” of imposing their progressive ideology on a society that refuses it, and has pledged to do rampart on his lands. Not yet declared for the Republican primary, this 44-year-old conservative carries his fight against Disney as a standard, in his speeches as in his recent autobiography, where the subject occupies an entire chapter.
“Targeted government revenge”
In its complaint, Walt Disney Parks and Resort accuses DeSantis of having orchestrated a real “campaign” to carry out “targeted government revenge” against him, to punish him for having exercised his “freedom of expression”. This “now threatens Disney’s business activities, jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights”, argues the company.
The group had drawn the ire of the governor last year, by denouncing a bill which restricted the teaching of subjects related to sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida elementary schools, a text baptized “Don’t say gay” by its detractors.
Since then, DeSantis removed Disney’s special status in his state in February, ending the advantages – administrative facilities, self-management of the site, advantageous loans, etc. — which the Disney World theme park had enjoyed since the 1960s. Following the move, a DeSantis-appointed tourism regulatory board on Wednesday approved the cancellation of a recent business deal with the park, which employs 75,000 people and attracts 50 million visitors a year.
Disney reacted by denouncing in its complaint “a measure of retaliation, manifestly anti-trade and manifestly unconstitutional”. The group believes that it “has no choice but to take this legal action to protect its employees, customers and partners”.
A “useless” fight, according to Trump
In early April, Disney boss Bob Iger publicly accused Ron DeSantis of taking an “anti-trade action” that violated the company’s “right to free speech.” Disney plans to invest more than $17 billion in Disney World over the next decade, create more than 10,000 jobs and attract even more tourists to Florida, he said.
DeSantis, who poses as a soldier of the “culture war”, is generally supported by the Trumpian base in his anti-LGBT crusades. But attacking Disney could be a miscalculation. On Truth Social, Donald Trump denounced a “useless” fight and a “political stunt”, with Disney who risks “announcing that they are no longer investing money in Florida because of the governor”. Chris Christie, who is also considering a possible candidacy, accused DeSantis of not being a “conservative”, being “anti-business”.
In mid-April the governor publicly considered building a “state prison” near Disney World, or a competing amusement park. He also mentioned the idea of setting up additional taxes on the hotels on the site, or road tolls around. “I think the possibilities are endless,” he said brazenly at a press conference.