It started with a seemingly inconsequential corporate statement. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a proposal critics have labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” policy, and Disney, a powerhouse in the Sunshine State, eventually criticized the anti-LGBTQ measure.
In a normal political environment, the governor might’ve defended his position and expressed his disagreement with Florida’s largest private employer, at which point the relevant players would’ve moved on. But in DeSantis Land, there’s nothing especially normal about politics: The Republican, desperate to punish Disney for daring to issue mild and inconsequential criticisms of a measure he’d already signed, created a new board giving him greater control over the local district.
What the governor did not realize — though he and his team probably should’ve been paying closer attention to the details — is that Disney was quietly making changes to weaken DeSantis’ appointees’ power before they even took office. A Washington Post report described the move as a “bureaucratic coup.”
As NBC News reported, DeSantis has now ordered an investigation.
In a letter to Florida’s chief inspector general released Monday, DeSantis asked for an investigation into the legality of a February declaration approved by the board that oversaw the Reedy Creek Improvement District. That declaration appears to give Walt Disney World direct corporate power to plan and develop the area. DeSantis further calls for an investigation into the qualifications of that board’s leadership, as well as any potential involvement of Disney employees and agents in executing the new document, and new communications between Disney and the board.
The governor’s letter went on to question whether Disney’s moves — made before the retaliatory measure was signed into law — should be seen as legally binding.
“These collusive and self-dealing arrangements aim to nullify the recently passed legislation, undercut Florida’s legislative process, and defy the will of Floridians,” DeSantis wrote, making a dubious assumption about his constituents’ attitudes on the matter.
For his part, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke at an annual shareholder meeting yesterday, noting that the dispute began by the company exercising its right to take a public position on a matter of public debate.
“The governor got very angry about the position Disney took and seems like he’s decided to retaliate against us, including the naming of a new board to oversee the property and the business,” the executive said.” In effect, to seek to punish a company for its exercise of a constitutional right. And that just seems really wrong to me.”
After stressing Disney’s role in the state — the company is Florida’s largest taxpayer and largest private employer, which continues to make billions of dollars in new investments to its Orlando-area property — Iger concluded, “Our point on this is that any action that supports those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida. And I’ll just leave it at that.” As a political matter, Republicans have positioned themselves for generations as champions of industry and the interests of “job creators.” But as GOP politics becomes more twisted, DeSantis is likely to run for president boasting about having picked a fight with a “woke” corporate giant. The fact that the governor appears to have flubbed this fight might make the pitch more difficult, but as yesterday’s developments suggest, the Floridian is still throwing punches, whether he should or not. This post revises our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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