Florida Governor Ron DeSantis put the Walt Disney Company on notice that the “story’s not over yet,” warning that there’s “more coming down the pike.”
The warning comes on the heels of agenda-driven media mocking DeSantis for being outsmarted “by a mouse,” over an audacious move Disney took before losing control of a governing board that oversees the governance of Walt Disney World.
Speaking at Hillsdale College in Midland, Michigan, on Thursday, the popular Republican governor fired back.
“They are not superior to the people of Florida,” he said of Disney. “So come hell or high water we’re going to make sure that policy of Florida carries the day. And so they can keep trying to do things. But ultimately we’re going to win on every single issue involving Disney I can tell you that.”
“They tried to pull a fast one on the way out the door. They’ve been caught on that. So, all I can say is that story’s not over yet. Buckle up,” DeSantis insisted. “There’s going be more coming down the pike, but ultimately, the state of Florida and any state needs to be governed by the people of the state as expressed through the medium of elections and under a state constitution.”
DeSantis added. “One powerful corporation should not be outside the contours of the law. They need to be held accountable and we are going to make sure that that happens.”
It all began when Disney opted to take a stance against the DeSantis administration by publicly declaring that the company would work to repeal the Parental Rights in Education Act, which bans sexual instruction in K-3rd grade. The LGBTQ movement and their media allies dishonestly portrayed the bill as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Gov. DeSantis responded by having the GOP-led Florida legislature dissolve a special district created for Disney that essentially allowed for self-governance, but lawmakers would have to go back to the well.
“DeSantis signed a bill into law in April 2022 to dissolve the Reedy Creek district that oversees Disney,” Business Insider reported. “But when it was revealed the measure could have resulted in residents taking on a sizeable amount of debt through higher taxes, the legislature sent DeSantis a new bill in February 2023, during a special session, that would allow the governor to appoint a board to control the district.”
And that’s when the outgoing board under Disney control tried to pull “a fast one,” as DeSantis noted, passing a series of agreements ensuring the entertainment giant would maintain the majority of its power.
On Monday, DeSantis instructed his chief inspector general to do a “thorough review and investigation” into the outgoing board’s actions, which he said “undercut Florida’s legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians,” Politico reported. This coming after Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody requested texts, emails, and other public records from former board members of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Among the actions being taken, Florida will also look at the taxes on Disney’s hotels and imposing tolls on roads that serve its theme parks, according to the political news outlet.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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