“Anti-Woke” Presidential Candidate Slams DeSantis’s Failure Against Disney

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Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump,and Vivek Ramaswamy pictured in front of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World Resort.

On Monday morning, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis launched an official investigation into restrictive covenants placed on Walt Disney World Resort‘s Reedy Creek Improvement District hours before The Walt Disney Company handed it over to The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. Disney claimed that it legally and publicly passed these covenants relating to the use of trademarks and significant changes to the Disney Park, which essentially render the board useless beyond municipal maintenance.

The battle began after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek denounced DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Act. The legislation effectively forbids discussion of gender and LGBTQIA+ sexuality with young students and empowers teachers to out children to their parents. DeSantis reportedly warned The Mouse not to get involved and retaliated by dissolving Reedy Creek when Chapek promised to pause political donations to legislators who supported the bill.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis giving a speech
Credit: ABC News

As DeSantis gears up for a potential 2024 Presidential primary run against former President Donald Trump, another candidate for the White House is speaking out against his handling of the Disney debacle. Entrepreneur, author, and “anti-woke” conservative Vivek Ramaswamy shared his thoughts in a video on Twitter:

Here’s what happens when a career politician meets a woke corporation: they strike a deal & both sides win. The politician gets to do a press conference & the company gets to do exactly what it wants. See Disney. See BlackRock. We don’t need a Republican president who speaks loudly & carries a small stick.

Ramaswamy accused DeSantis of not actually standing up to The Walt Disney Company but using the battle to gain political points for his presidential run. He claimed that after the headlines of DeSantis’s Reedy Creek legislation made waves in conservative media, the Republican Governor stopped caring.

“Once the headlines are gone, guess what Disney actually does? They quietly undermine that board,” Ramaswamy said. “They just put in place restrictive covenants that would effectively render that board useless for the next 30 years. Interesting how that happens. News headline happens, then the real thing happens, the corporation at issue wins the day.”

Ron DeSantis in a 'Top Gun' inspired jacket, standing in front of an American flag. Text reads, "Never back down from a fight."
Credit: RonDeSantis.com

“Is that just a one-off example? No, it’s actually part of a broader pattern,” he argued. “I could probably go on for a very long time… Career politicians are hungry to do whatever gets them the biggest short-term news cycle because that’s what matters to them rather than solving the actual problem.”

“Don’t speak loudly and carry a small stick,” Ramaswamy challenged DeSantis. “Pretty soon, people are going to start seeing through the trick.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not respond to Ramaswamy’s comments.

What do you think about the DeSantis-Disney battle? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.

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