The brewing feud between Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump has hit an all-time high as the Florida governor threatens to go to war with Disney once again.
As previously reported, DeSantis’ tiff with the company, in addition to them opposing the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, stems from Disney’s King Charles III loophole that prohibits DeSantis from having power over the company’s tax district, The Reedy Creek Improvement District, and any future developments they may have by limiting the use of their name and or their characters.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is now called Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, helps fund the areas around the Disney resort. Earlier this year, DeSantis attempted to get control of Disney’s taxing district by signing a bill, firing the entire board, and replacing those individuals with his selected members.
Just when it looked like DeSantis may have been defeated on April 17, during a press conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, he opened up about the loophole and how he plans to respond to it. DeSantis stated that Disney’s agreement to keep their power is a “direct defiance of the will of the people of Florida” and will not work if he has the last say.
“They negotiated with themselves, to give themselves the ability to maintain their self-governing status. Now that’s in direct defiance of the will of the people of Florida. They thought that they could create some type of development agreements that would essentially render everything that we did null and void and put them in control in perpetuity for this. Well, that’s not going to work.”
DeSantis added that a new law could be announced as early as next week to void Disney’s agreement. According to CBS News, this new bill will also “require safety inspections for Disney’s transportation infrastructure and buildings” and allow the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to participate in the process. He stated,
“The beauty of the legislature getting involved is they’re going to come in… and basically say, this development agreement is revoked, and that’s what is going to be in the law in the state of Florida,”
DeSantis wrapped up his remarks by listing other ideas he has planned for the area around the Disney resorts, including building a park, more amusement attractions, and a prison. The father of three said as he talked about the endless possibilities he has for Disney’s future,
“People have said maybe create a state park, maybe try to do more amusement parks. Somebody even said like, maybe you need another state prison, who knows. I just think that the possibilities are endless.”
Around the same time DeSantis held his press conference, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to attack his alleged presidential campaign rival. In the post, the 76-year-old claimed that DeSantis had advertised that Trump, who allegedly approves the second amendment, was working alongside Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to enforce gun control laws, something he describes as “democrat disinformation.”
Trump continued his rant by mentioning that he had a huge turnout at the NRA convention in Indiana, and DeSantis failed to attend because he feared getting booted off stage. The father of five wrote,
“Nobody has been stronger for the 2nd Amendment than President Donald J. Trump, and yet, Ron DeSanctus took an advertisement this weekend saying, of all things, I was in agreement with Crazy Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, “NOT.”Wow, that’s like Democrat Disinformation! This weekend at the NRA Convention in Indianapolis, I had, by far, the biggest crowd and got, not even close, the most enthusiastic ovations. I was there, in person. DeSanctus didn’t even show up – Was concerned he would be booed!”
DeSantis has yet to respond.
