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Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikipedia CommonsDuring the Republican Presidential Debate on January 10, candidate Nikki Haley took Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to task over his flip-flopping and attacks on the Walt Disney Company.
Related: Disney vs. DeSantis – Who Will Come Out on Top in 2024?
At this point, Ron DeSantis’ position on the Walt Disney Company is clear: he’s not a fan. After the company spoke out against his colloquially named “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, the Florida Governor went all out, taking control of Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District and placing multiple new sanctions against Walt Disney World Resort. Needless to say, the Disney-DeSantis feud has been vicious.
Currently, DeSantis is vying to be the Republican nominee for President in 2024. Besides former President Donald Trump, his most significant competition is Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. When DeSantis’ attacks against Disney came up, she wasted no time in calling the Florida Governor out.
Nikki Haley: Ron DeSantis Doesn’t Hate “Woke” Disney, He Hates Being Criticized
Related: DeSantis Accuses Disney of “Transing Kids,” Declares Victory
One of the significant traditional beliefs of the GOP is that the government shouldn’t involve itself with businesses, something that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis directly went against when he took over the Reedy Creek Improvement District from Disney. When he tried to justify his actions by claiming that Disney wanted to “sexualize the curriculum” and was “transing kids.”
However, Nikki Haley wasn’t going to let that slide. “Government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people,” she retorted. “It was never meant to be all things, all people. And what we don’t need is government politicizing everything.” She then directed everyone to her “DeSantis Lies” website.
Related: DeSantis Board Takes Bids To Change Disney World Forever
The former South Carolina Governor continued, “It’s really interesting that Ron talks about Disney because Disney has been woke for a long time. They were against the immigration situation that [Donald] Trump was doing. They were against the Paris climate agreement when I did it. They were against a pro-life bill in Georgia.”
Haley then accused the Florida Governor of flip-flopping. “Ron [DeSantis] didn’t have any problem with that. As a matter of fact, he gave them the largest corporate subsidies in Florida history. He had a tech exemption, he didn’t give tech exemptions to anybody but Disney. Yet when they criticized him, he got thin-skinned and suddenly started fighting back.”
@cnn CNN’s Dana Bash asked Republican Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis if the government should be able to use it’s power to go after businesses that do not align with conservative values. #cnn #news #debate #nikkihaley #rondesantis #2024
Related: DeSantis Disney District Cuts Off Residents From Services
“We don’t need government fighting against our private industries,” Haley concluded. “We are not ‘woke’ in South Carolina. I will always invite businesses to come to South Carolina. But the one thing you don’t do is [the] government doesn’t bully our businesses, and that can’t happen and Ron is determined. Anybody that offends him, he goes after them.”
She’s definitely not wrong about that, seeing as DeSantis has battled numerous companies, organizations, and people in his so-called “woke wars.” However, this debate didn’t truly matter since the current Republican front-runner, Donald Trump, wasn’t even there. And when it comes to debates of national importance, Disney seems like the least of the country’s concerns.
Do you agree that DeSantis doesn’t actually care that Disney is “woke?” Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!