Ron DeSantis Suffers Huge Blow in His Battle With Disney

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has seen his favorability drop across the country as his nemesis, Disney, gets more popular.

DeSantis has been engaged in a feud with the corporate powerhouse ever since Disney spoke out against his "Don't Say Gay Bill" in 2022. The governor signed the bill, which bans the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in certain grades at Florida schools, into law.

DeSantis' popularity rating has fallen since November and almost half of Americans see him in an unfavorable light, according to a survey by polling organization Navigator.

Over the same period, Disney's favorability rating has remained high, with people siding with the corporation in its beef with DeSantis and nearly two in three Americans having a favorable view of the media giant.

Main image, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pictured in Laconia, New Hampshire, on June 1, 2023. Inset, a Disney Store sign is seen in London on June 11, 2018. A survey shows DeSantis' popularity has dropped amid his battle with Disney. Scott Eisen/John Keeble/Getty Images North America

The majority of people, across all ethnic groups, sided with Disney and believe it is in the right in the Florida governor's "crusade" against it.

Even worse news for DeSantis is that his favorability rating among Republicans has declined 19 points since November. One in five Republicans sided with Disney, believing the company is in the right.

In an act perceived as retaliation for Disney's opposition to the "Don't Say Gay Bill," DeSantis set his sights on the land where Disney World is situated in Orlando, Florida. He attempted to strip Disney of social privileges and tax breaks protected under the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which had allowed the company to essentially run as its own self-governing authority in Florida for more than 50 years.

But Disney managed to legally outmaneuver the governor, who has announced his intention to run for the Republican presidential candidacy in the upcoming 2024 elections.

DeSantis established the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to replace the Reedy Creek board— but its handpicked, five-person membership revealed their predecessors had signed a deal with Disney in February that severely restricts the new board's powers and essentially allows Disney to remain self-governing.

In May Disney said it would pull a proposed plan to build a $1 billion corporate campus in central Florida because of "considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project." If the project had gone ahead, it would have created 2,000 jobs in the state.

Disney has also filed a lawsuit against DeSantis, in which it accused him of attempting to punish the company over its opposition to the "Don't Say Gay" bill, which it argued violated its First Amendment rights.

He reacted by filing a motion to have the judge in the case, Chief Judge Mark Walker, replaced over a perceived lack of impartiality.

DeSantis has said there was "zero" chance that he would back down in his battle with Disney.

"They're not going to govern themselves. We the people are going to govern," DeSantis said in New Hampshire during a recent visit. "To put one corporation on a pedestal and let them be exempt from the laws is not good policy.

"It's not free-market economics and it's not something that our state is going to be involved in. We will not change from that. They can do whatever they want. I know people try to chirp and say this or that. The chance of us backing down from that is zero."