GOP critics pile on DeSantis over Disney feud: 'I don't think Ron DeSantis is a conservative'
- Ron DeSantis' ongoing feud against Disney has drawn criticism for months.
- The Florida Governor's latest threats against the company had GOP critics questioning his values.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' ongoing feud against the Walt Disney Company has begun to draw ire from conservatives who argue the GOP politician is wrongfully interfering in business matters — and acting against the Republican party platform.
DeSantis on Monday threatened to build public housing, a competing theme park, or a prison nearby Florida's Disney World in an escalation of the spat which originated after Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized the Florida governor's controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill, which restricted discussion of gender identity and sexuality in public schools, and vowed to fight against the legislation.
DeSantis has since taken aim at the entertainment company, trying to strip the tourism-driving theme park of its decades-long special tax status and facing off in the press.
"I'm a conservative, and I believe as a conservative, the job of government is... to stay out of the business of business," former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told digital news outlet Semafor in a Tuesday interview, adding: "I don't think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney."
Christie isn't the only Republican politician critical of DeSantis' approach to Disney's criticism of his policies. DeSantis' political rival, former President Donald Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social that DeSantis is being "absolutely destroyed by Disney."
"Disney's next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor — In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing," Trump wrote. "Watch! That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT! Ron should work on the squatter MESS!"
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a critic and potential challenger of Trump's, sided with the former president, agreeing that DeSantis has taken the disagreement too far by targeting the company's tax status and the potential value of its land.
"Look, this has gone from kind of going after a headline to something that has devolved into an issue, and it convolutes the entire Republican message," Politico reported Sununu said Monday night. "I just don't think — it's not good for Governor DeSantis. I don't think it's good for the Republican party."
Representatives for DeSantis, Christie, Trump, and Sununu did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.