In a recent filing, the Walt Disney Company has officially gone on the full offensive against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, calling the Republican Presidential candidate “profoundly un-American.”
While Disney has animated many iconic battles, their most memorable feud is against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. After speaking out against his controversial Florida Parental Rights in Education Act (AKA the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill), the governor seems to have set the Walt Disney Company, his former ally, in his sights.
Not only did the Florida Governor strip Walt Disney World Resort of its special Reedy Creek Improvement District, replacing it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, but he also instigated numerous regulations against the iconic resort. He even went so far as to threaten to build a prison next to the theme park.
The Walt Disney Company retaliated with a lawsuit against the Presidential hopeful, claiming he was violating their First Amendment rights. While DeSantis responded with more comments and policy changes, he began losing support from potential Republican allies, including former President Donald Trump, Chris Christie, and Matt Gaetz.
During all of this, the Walt Disney Company has never made a full-blown verbal attack against the Florida Governor. They’ve made statements, but nothing has matched the same vitriol as when DeSantis speaks of the company’s “woke” policies. However, this all changed when Disney made an official filing on Monday, October 30, regarding DeSantis’ filing to dismiss the lawsuit. And it is a truly damning statement.
Disney Claims DeSantis is Engaged in “Constitutional Mutiny”
The Walt Disney Company made a new court filing on Monday, laying out their case against Republican Governor Ron DeSantis. The statement made by Disney is not only their most aggressive yet, but it brings into question DeSantis’ dedication to the United States of America and the Constitution.
“Governor DeSantis and his allies are engaged in an ongoing constitutional mutiny,” said Disney. “They openly reject the foundational First Amendment rule that a state cannot deploy its official powers to punish the expression of disfavored political viewpoints.”
The filing continued to lambast the Republican Governor, saying, “Consistent with that outlook, their motion to dismiss rests explicitly on the premise that states are free to wield the ‘structure and composition’ of representative political institutions as cudgels against those who express opinions not acceptable to the ruling party. That premise is not just legally unsupported; it is profoundly un-American.”
This statement is particularly harsh and damning, especially coming from a company like Disney. It’s hard to see an outlook from this case where Ron DeSantis wins the GOP presidential nomination or even re-election as Governor of Florida.