DeSantis Says He is Not “Backing Down One Inch” in Fight With Disney

As most of the country is probably very well aware, for the last 15 months, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been at war with the Walt Disney Company. The governor was incredibly upset when ex-Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against a bill that the governor championed. Since then, the governor has been going after the company every chance he gets. The Governor and the Republican-controlled state legislature have stripped Walt Disney World of its right to self-govern. The state has also taken inspection control of Disney World’s monorail system. Add to that, the governor has threatened to put a state prison next to the theme parks.

DeSantis has been very vocal about his fight with the House of Mouse and has spoken about it at multiple events, rallies, and even in his recently released book. On May 24, the governor announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Since then, the governor has been traveling, trying to gear up support. He recently spoke at a rally in Iowa and, as has happened many times before, the topic of Disney came up.

DeSantis said:

…There was a little business that you may of heard of in Florida that also wasn’t happy about [the Parental Rights bill] named Disney. And people told me, they said ‘listen, the media is coming after you, the left, but if Disney weighs in, they’re the 800-pound gorilla, you better watch out. They’re gonna steamroll you. Well, here I stand.I’m not backing down one inch. We run the state of Florida. They do not run the state of Florida. We stand for the protection of our children. We will fight those who seek to rob them of their innocence and on that there will be no compromise.”

While DeSantis has been bragging about his alleged “victory” over the company, Disney has been listening. In late April, Walt Disney World filed a lawsuit against the governor. Disney is claiming that DeSantis is violating its First Amendment Rights to free speech by retaliating against them for speaking out against the Parental Rights bill. Since filing the lawsuit, Disney has amended it, using DeSantis’ own words to prove its case. DeSantis has said, more than once, that he began going after Disney when Chapek first spoke out.

Things have recently taken a turn in Disney’s lawsuit against DeSantis. Chief Judge Mark Wallace recused himself from the case, citing that a relative of his has stock in The Walt Disney Company. Wallace accused DeSantis of Judge shopping. In a win for DeSantis, Judge Allen Winsor is now the presiding judge. Winsor is favored by DeSantis because he has dismissed cases looking to strike down the Parental Rights bill.