Ron DeSantis claims to have special knowledge of Walt Disney’s thinking, despite Walt Disney dying 10 years before Florida governor was born

In the latest round of his feud against a private company that had the audacity to disagree with him, Florida’s governor declared Ron DeSantis has come out with the audacious claim that Walter Elias Disney, who co-founded the Walt Disney company in 1923 and died in 1966, would not have gotten along with the supposedly “awakened” direction the company has taken today.

Appear on the Ingraham Angle Shortly after Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District said it doesn’t actually have the power to dissolve it in revenge unless he coughs up $1 billion first, DeSantis stated, “I want everyone to do well, but I’m not comfortable running one company. with their own government and special privileges, when that company is committed to attacking the parents in my state, when that company has very high-ranking people talking about injecting transsexualism into programs for young children, it’s wrong. Walt Disney wouldn’t want that. And so back to the mission. Do what you did great. That’s why people loved the company and you got lost. Maybe this is the wake-up call they need to get back on track track.”

If you’re just tuning in to DeSantis’ war on Mouse Town, know that when he claims it’s “attacking parents,” he’s talking about Disney’s decision to speak out against his bigoted “Don’t Say Gay” law, banning conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3 (and, critics say, beyond). As for “senior people talking about injecting transsexualism into programming,” DeSantis, while not entirely clear, seems to be referring to comments from a Disney executive who said in March that the company has a goal of selling half of all his characters are members of underrepresented groups, a commitment to inclusivity that just doesn’t fit the Florida governor. That executive also said Disney should produce more stories where gay characters can just be characters, rather than their homosexuality being the focus of the story. What DeSantis and other conservatives have interpreted as — or unfairly trying to convince people it means — explicit sex scenes. That clearly says more about them than Disney or the LGBTQ+ community.

Incidentally, a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday revealed that “a bipartisan majority of American voters oppose politicians who punish corporations for their positions on social issues.” Unfortunately, we don’t know what Mr. Walt Disney would have had to say about this, although the Florida governor doesn’t know either, as he was born more than 10 years after the man’s death.

In other DeSantis vs. Disney news, the Miami Herald reports:

One of the nation’s leading credit rating agencies warned on Thursday that if the state of Florida doesn’t resolve a conflict over its decision to withdraw Walt Disney World’s Reedy Creek Improvement District and its obligation to investors, the move could hurt other Florida’s financial positions. governments. Fitch Ratings posted the warning on its Fitch Wire website late Thursday, nearly a week after Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill dissolving the special tax district that controls Disney property by June 1, 2023. Reedy Creek Improvement District has nearly $1 billion in bond debt. and last week Fitch issued a “negative watch” due to uncertainty about how that debt will be paid and by whom.

The agency said the situation “reflects a unique and dynamic level of disagreement” and expects the state to “ultimately work with various stakeholders to resolve the uncertainty.” But it also added a warning: “Failing to do so could alter our view of Florida’s commitment to preserving bondholders’ rights and weaken our view of the work environment for Florida’s governments.”