Two of the biggest names in Florida right now are “DeSantis” and “Disney.”Â
And those two names have been at odds all year long.Â
But the battle is over and the new top mouse at Disney just figuratively called America’s Governor to offer his concession.Â
The rising star of the GOP
Ron DeSantis’ bold agenda for Florida since taking the reins as Governor has made him popular with Sunshine State residents and conservatives across the country.
As America’s Governor has shot up the GOP’s rising star charts, he’s drawn the ire of Democrat politicians, woke celebrities and the corporate-controlled media.
One of DeSantis’ signature accomplishments was restoring parental rights in government-run schools.Â
DeSantis took the fight to Big Education in his state.Â
When the Republican-controlled Legislature in the Sunshine State passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, Gov. DeSantis eagerly signed it into law.
The law barred any teaching of sexually mature subjects to students in kindergarten through third grade.
It also had protections for parents, forcing schools to alert them in cases such as pregnancy or gender identity changes.
However, left-wing politicians, the corporate-controlled media, Hollywood and even giant mega-corporations all ganged up on him.
Leftist politicians and corporate-controlled media labeled it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Woke radicals flocked to social media, posting videos of themselves repeatedly saying the word “gay” as though it would change DeSantis’ mind.
This despite the fact, “don’t say gay,” was nowhere to be found in the wording of the legislation.
DeSantis vs. Disney
Disney Corp. vowed to fight the Governor over the new law – but that didn’t work out well for them.
Not only did they face boycotts from conservative customers, but Gov. DeSantis also moved for the legislature to take away Disney’s self- governing status in the state – costing them an untold fortune.Â
Months later, there’s no question who won the war between Disney and Ron DeSantis.Â
DeSantis just cruised to re-election in landslide fashion – defeating Charlie Crist, one of the biggest names in Florida politics, by nearly 20-points in the 2022 Midterm elections.Â
Meanwhile, Disney’s stock has tanked since picking a fight with America’s Governor.Â
Disney CEO Bob Chapek alienated half the country to not attend their theme parks or watch their content, watched as the company’s stock prices dropped off a cliff and lost their self-governing status – and it cost him his job.Â
Now Disney has brought back retired CEO Bob Iger.Â
Change of direction for Disney?
Disney recently held its first employee town hall since the leadership change.Â
EXCLUSIVE: I have obtained video from returning Disney CEO Bob Iger's first town hall with employees, in which he signals that he will work to "quiet things down" politically and move toward neutrality in the culture war.https://t.co/ZBGdHhxFVS pic.twitter.com/ZbMCZN4MlG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) November 29, 2022
Iger made it clear, Walt’s former company is going to play it politically neutral going forward.Â
“I was sorry to see us dragged into that battle,” Iger said of the war Chapek waged and lost to DeSantis. “The State of Florida has been important to us for a long time. And we have been very important to the State of Florida. That is something I’m extremely mindful of and will articulate if I get the chance. Do I like the company being embroiled in controversy? Of course not. It can be distracting, and it can have a negative impact on the company. And to the extent that I can work to kind of quiet things down, I’m going to do that.”
True to form, DeSantis had a response for Iger at the ready – taking exception to Iger’s choice of wording.Â
“We didn’t drag them in,” DeSantis said in an interview with Tucker Carlson. “They went in on their own, and not only opposed the bill – they threatened to get it repealed. These are parents’ rights, important policies in our state that are very popular. And so, they brought this on themselves.”
American families will have to wait and see if Iger learned anything from Chapek’s folly fight.