Florida Governor DeSantis' showdown with Disney carries political risk

In his face-off with Walt Disney Co, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has frequently adopted the pose of a swaggering gunfighter out of the Wild West.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” he boasts to conservative audiences nationwide as he prepares to launch his 2024 US presidential bid.

The flex brings him cheers from the friendly crowds. But as his clash with Disney escalates, so does the political risk for him and his nascent campaign.

The news on Wednesday that

Disney had filed a federal lawsuit against Mr DeSantis

brought him a fresh round of criticism, particularly from fellow Republicans who contend that his approach is at odds with the pro-business policies the party typically favours.

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is also seeking the 2024 Republican nomination, needled him, saying to Disney in a tweet “my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida”.

South Carolina, she said, “is not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either”.

The lawsuit was the latest development in a battle sparked in 2022 by Disney’s criticism of a Florida law that banned classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for young students, dubbed by opponents as the “don’t say gay” Bill. That led to the state’s attempt to strip the theme park of its independent governing powers.

The complaint accuses Mr DeSantis of illegally using the state government to punish a company for exercising its free speech rights.

A spokesman for Mr DeSantis, Mr Jeremy Redfern, said Disney’s lawsuit “is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law”.

Fresh concerns

Mr DeSantis, who was in South Korea on Wednesday as part of a week-long international trade mission, is expected to announce his presidential run in May. And while his hardline stance against Disney has roused part of the conservative base, it has also prompted fresh questions about whether he can muster enough widespread support across the party to defeat former president Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.

Trump has capitalised on the Disney drama, recently declaring on social media that the company was getting the better of Mr DeSantis and suggesting that Disney could end up damaging Florida’s economy by reducing its footprint there.

While Mr DeSantis has tried to portray himself as a trustworthy, pro-growth steward of Florida’s economy, his stance on Disney has left some deep-pocketed Republican donors befuddled. Billionaire Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities in 2022 remarked that Mr DeSantis’ actions amounted to “retaliation against corporate America”.

“The war with Disney made some sense for a time in the context of Governor DeSantis’ presidential aspirations. Now it’s coming across as petty and personal,” said Mr Carlos Curbelo, a former Republican US representative from Miami. “What seemed like a political win for the governor is starting to become a liability.”

Speaking to the conservative Heritage Foundation on Friday, Mr DeSantis defended his actions.

“It’s not conservative to simply defer to every corporation in America. That’s being a corporatist,” he said.

Mr Robert Bigelow, a hotel magnate who recently handed US$20 million (S$26.7 million) to a super PAC (political action committee) supporting Mr DeSantis, said he was standing by the governor.

“On balance, the governor is a fair man and he is a lawyer, so I assume Disney and the governor are prepared for a strong fight,” Mr Bigelow told Reuters on Wednesday.

In a national Reuters/Ipsos poll taken this week, 44 per cent of Republicans said they had a more favourable view of Mr DeSantis because of the fight with Disney. But 73 per cent – including 82 per cent of Democrats and 63 per cent of Republicans – said they were less likely to support a political candidate who backs laws designed to punish a company for its political or cultural stances.

Mr Mac Stipanovich, a retired Republican lobbyist in Florida and a frequent critic of Mr DeSantis, said the governor had taken the conflict too far and could pay a political price.

“He has gotten all he is going to get out of this gambit with the right-wing zealots,” Mr Stipanovich said. “From here on out, he will just appear more petty, vindictive and foolish to everyone else.” REUTERS