DeSantis in Spotlight As Disney Pulls $1Bn Investment From Florida
Disney announced on Thursday it had canceled plans to build a new $1 billion campus in Orlando, which would have brought 2,000 new jobs to the state.The Florida governor has been locked in a bitter battle with Disney since its president criticized his Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "don't say gay bill" by critics.
DeSantis stripped the corporation of the largely self-governing status it enjoyed around its parks, while Disney launched legal action against the governor, arguing he is undermining its First Amendment right to free speech.Polling indicates DeSantis is the second most popular possible 2024 GOP presidential candidate with Republican voters, following Donald Trump, though he has slipped significantly in the past couple of months.
Thus the Florida governor's ongoing conflict with Disney could help determine who occupies the White House from January 2025 onwards.Disney announced it was pulling the new $1 billion Orlando complex on Thursday, with Walt Disney World President Jeff Vahle attributing this to "several dynamics," in a statement directed at community leaders.
He claimed these included "a change in company leadership and evolving economic and business conditions."However Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a Republican, said it "looks like" the decision had been made in response to DeSantis's "personal vendetta" against Disney, which has "cost the state now potentially 2,000 jobs in a billion-dollar investment."Fox News commentator Dagen McDowell also criticized the governor following the announcement, stating: "Ron DeSantis does not have an economic plan as of yet, and today Disney just pulled a $1 billion investment out of Florida."Dagen McDowell criticizes DeSantis, much to Hannity's chagrin:.
