Trailing Donald Trump heavily in nationwide polls, presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is going back to the well, attacking his favorite political punching bag in a bid to shore up conservative support.
The Florida governor is taking Disney, the state’s single largest employer, to task on the special administrative status of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where Disney World is located.
The issue may seem esoteric, but it offers DeSantis critical leverage given Disney is more dependent than ever on the earnings from its highly profitable theme parks.
Thanks to sweetheart rules in place since 1967, Disney World enjoys a large degree of autonomy unique throughout Florida, exempting it from safety inspections for its monorail and even granting it the right to assess its own property value when paying taxes.
“One corporation having its own government in central Florida is no longer in the best interests of the state,” he said on Monday, announcing legislative action against Reedy Creek as early as next week.
“There’s a larger principle at stake than just about this company. Ultimately we are a government of laws, not a government of individual men or even a government of woke corporations based in California.”
“Uncovered”? The meeting was public and had prior notification. Someone wasn’t doing the most basic due diligence. https://t.co/8DSAMjNL9v
— Ron Kampeas (@kampeas) April 17, 2023
A recent attempt to wrest control over the district by imposing a state control board backfired on DeSantis when his team failed to attend an open meeting of the district in February, during which Disney defanged his attempt in broad daylight.
In retaliation, the governor said on Monday the state now intended to use the full extent of its authority to hold the company to account.
It would examine litigation against the entertainment giant, mull the selloff of the district’s utility, scrutinize the millage rate used for judging property taxes, hike pay for first responders in the district, and potentially develop the remaining land if the state comes up with a good idea.
“Someone even said, ‘Maybe you need another state prison,’ who knows—I just think the possibilities are endless,” DeSantis said.
“So that is now going to be analyzed to see what would make the most sense, and that wasn’t necessarily even on our radar.”
When reached by Fortune, Disney did not immediately comment.
Disney accused of promoting a not-so-hidden political agenda
The Florida governor is the only Republican within striking distance of Trump thanks in large part to repeated ideological fights DeSantis picked with Disney that garnered him nationwide attention.
Following the midterms that saw Trump-endorsed candidates in key races lose, it looked as if momentum would swing in favor of DeSantis, who romped to victory in his own gubernatorial race in November.
Trump meanwhile had struggled to come up with a lethal nickname for DeSantis, but he struck gold with an attack ad that portrayed the Florida governor in unsavory terms, branding him “pudding fingers” in reference to an article he eats with his hands.
Trump’s Super PAC attack ad on ‘Pudding Fingers’ DeSantis (2023) pic.twitter.com/4Vm3k4X96I
— crazy ass moments in american politics (@ampol_moment) April 14, 2023
Meanwhile, DeSantis is fighting Trump with one hand tied behind his back: Leading GOP figures like himself and Nikki Haley have been careful about openly criticizing the ex-president given his outsize influence with the base.
DeSantis attacking free market capitalism is—generally speaking—not a vote-getter among Republicans, neither in the key swing state nor nationwide.
But Disney itself has staked out a progressive position in its films and TV series that is turning consumers away and enraging conservatives like anti-Disney activist Chris Rufo.
When state representative Carolina Amesty took the podium, she got straight to the underlying matter at hand from her perspective: “woke” corporations.
“They have turned Disney into this corporate PR arm of a small group of extremists who want to indoctrinate our children with radical gender ideologies that have no basis in science, common sense, or basic human decency,” she told reporters during the briefing.
Turning to address Disney executives, Amesty said: “You’re in the business of entertaining children and families. You are not in the business of social reengineering or promoting radical political ideologies.”