Ron DeSantis

Appearing at the doorstep of Walt Disney World, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that gives him new power over Disney, effectively punishing ...

Chris Sununu said penalizing businesses for political speech set “the worst precedent in the world.” Lawmakers, though, changed course amid concerns a disruption of Reedy Creek’s debt and contracts violated the state law that created the special tax district. With an army of lobbyists and millions in past campaign donations to Republican lawmakers, it often wielded much influence in Florida’s halls of legislative power. The move against Disney comes nearly a year after the company spoke out against a Florida bill – which DeSantis later signed into law – to restrict certain classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. It allows the governor to replace the district’s existing board – mostly people with ties to Disney – with a five-member body that he hand-picks. “Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said Monday at a Reedy Creek fire station in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

The move is intended to punish Disney over opposition to the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.

Republican critics of the district argue it gives Disney a commercial advantage unavailable to others. The futuristic city never materialized and instead morphed into a second theme park that opened in 1982. DeSantis and other Republican critics of Disney slammed the company for coming out against the education law, calling it a purveyor of "woke" ideology that inject inappropriate subjects into children's entertainment. It leaves the district and its financial abilities and debt obligations intact, addressing a chief concern of surrounding governments. [DeSantis hosted a retreat](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desantis-donors-gop-retreat-considers-2024-presidential-run/) with some prominent Republican donors and members of Congress, the latest sign of his anticipated run for the White House in 2024. "Today the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end," he said at a bill signing ceremony in Lake Buena Vista.

In "The Courage to Be Free," the Florida governor says America is threatened by "elites" and "woke" corporations.

DeSantis beams about stretching the definition of “essential” businesses that could remain open during the first weeks of the pandemic to include WWE wrestling. [ferocious battle with Disney](http://bit.ly/3Z6PbOU), which he calls “the magic kingdom of woke corporatism,” over its public statements opposing a law he signed prohibiting classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. Bush’s attempt to impose a democratic framework on Iraq was a “fool’s errand,” he writes. Later, he volunteered for a deployment to Iraq, where he advised commanders on the rules of battlefield engagement during a surge of U.S. Expect to hear a lot more about DeSantis’s athleticism, vigor and youth — he’ll be 45 during the Republican primaries and 46 when ballots are cast in the 2024 general election — if he faces off against Trump, who will be 78 during the primaries, or President Biden, who will be a few days short of his 82nd birthday on Election Day in November 2024. Years later, when DeSantis embarked on the first of three successful campaigns to represent Florida in Congress, he says he considered his fancy degrees to be “political scarlet letters.” After Harvard, DeSantis skipped joining a big law firm and earned a commission in the U.S. At Yale and Harvard, he encountered professors who “reigned as potentates, sure in the smugness of their positions, but utterly unaware of the lives of most Americans, including those that they professed to care about that.” He excelled, graduating magna cum laude, becoming captain of the baseball team and, as his coach later pointed out at a campaign event, managing a .336 batting average, more than 100 points higher than another Yale baseball captain, President George H.W. Maybe DeSantis is reading, and believing, the polls that say he’d beat Trump in a romp (though others come to the opposite conclusion) and figures there’s no need to attack a Ron DeSantis, who pundits and polls have pegged as the [most formidable challenger to former president Donald Trump](http://bit.ly/3KHfk2K) in the 2024 Republican primary. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, for “stellar” judicial appointments and for funneling big money to Florida for Hurricane Michael relief. A well-worn element of the flirtation season is “the book,” complete with anodyne patriotic, inspirational or leadership-oriented titles.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that takes control of a special tax district surrounding Walt Disney World that for half a century ...

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is awarding nearly $1 billion to 99 U.S. All the news you need to start your day. (This includes the Reuters Weekend Briefing.)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on the eve of his new book release stripping away Disney's self-governing status in the state.

Reedy Creek has been around since 1967, when it was created in anticipation of the arrival of Walt Disney World in Central Florida. Still, it also gives DeSantis power on the Reedy Creek board. [ the bill](https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=2023h00009B.rc.DOCX&DocumentType=Analysis&BillNumber=0009B&Session=2023B) almost three weeks ago. “We are focused on the future and are ready to work within this new framework and we will continue to innovate, inspire and bring joy to the millions of guests who come to Florida to visit Walt Disney World each year,” Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World, said after lawmakers approved the Reedy Creek re-do. DeSantis joined with other speakers at the event, including a fire union official, Disney cast member, and longtime fan-turned-enemy of Walt Disney World, in ridiculing the company for its past COVID-19 policies, labor practices, and its inclusionary messaging, which the governor and a few speakers poisoned as “woke.” “It’s like nationalizing a company. It’s truly socialism,” state Sen. While lawmakers last year also approved abolishing the Reedy Creek district by this June, fear this action would shift $700 million in district bond debt to Central Florida taxpayers sparked DeSantis and lawmakers to rework their slap at Disney during an early February special session. The Disney bill (HB 9B) also contained a needed DeSantis fix, by specifically keeping the Reedy Creek debt obligation with the district. The governor Monday again demonized Disney executives for trying to “inject sexuality into a lot of their programming,” a theme DeSantis and his followers deployed repeatedly during last year’s debate over the parental rights legislation. But DeSantis apparently [timed the signing](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/27/florida-gov-desantis-flexes-power-over-disney-on-eve-of-book-launch/69947974007/) to the eve of [his new book release](https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/23/ron-desantis-book-launch-seen-precursor-run-president-2024-florida-governor/69936119007/), which he also touted Monday. [ measure stripping away](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/state/2022/04/19/florida-gov-ron-desantis-consider-ending-disney-special-privileges-during-legislative-session/7365913001/) [Walt Disney Company’s](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/) self-governing status, payback after the tourism giant [defied him last year](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/state/2022/04/19/florida-gov-ron-desantis-consider-ending-disney-special-privileges-during-legislative-session/7365913001/).

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that strips The Walt Disney Co. of its 55-year control over a special district covering its Florida theme parks.

The legislation also includes provisions for the district to continue paying its debt obligations. But the idea of going after their taxing authority, that was beyond the scope of what I as a conservative limited government Republican would be prepared to do.” [don’t say gay](https://deadline.com/tag/dont-say-gay/)” law, but he and other supporters of the legislation say that it also ends special treatment for one corporation. Shortly after Disney, then led by CEO Bob Chapek, criticized the parental rights law, DeSantis championed legislation to dissolve the district. The board members will have oversight over the special district’s infrastructure and services, as well as taxing authority, but DeSantis also referred to Disney’s content decisions. DeSantis also announced his nominees for the board, which are subject to Florida Senate confirmation.

DeSantis' book 'The Courage to be Free' is widely seen as a precursor to him launching his 2024 presidential campaign.

DeSantis’ 2024 prospects grew after he sailed to reelection by a nearly 20-point margin in November, and the governor has increasingly become the target of attacks from Trump, who has dubbed him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and “Meatball Ron.” In line with the flattery for Trump in his book, DeSantis has so far not attacked Trump in response, though when asked about recent comments of Trump’s, DeSantis [responded](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-08/desantis-blasts-trump-for-trying-to-smear-other-republicans?sref=LfZwdw4Z) by saying he doesn’t “spend [his] time trying to smear other Republicans.” In the meantime, the governor has increasingly been traveling to other states outside of Florida, which will ramp up as he promotes his book, and hosted a [retreat](https://apnews.com/article/ron-desantis-politics-2022-midterm-elections-florida-iowa-39d916a6d7a8057e7c8666fd9cf8d474) last weekend with major Republican officials and donors. “Take out the gauzy abstraction, the heartwarming clichés, and much of what DeSantis is describing in The Courage to Be Free is chilling — unfree and scary.” The governor has garnered national attention and widespread scrutiny for his policies in Florida, particularly attempts to erase purported “Trump supported policies that appealed to the base in a way that GOP leaders in the D.C. Of those who prefer Trump, 42% said DeSantis would be their second-choice candidate. Analysis by political pundits that characterized Trump’s 2016 presidential nomination as a “hostile takeover of the Republican Party” got the issue “exactly backwards,” DeSantis argued in his book. and opposed the Russia collusion conspiracy theory.” [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/books/review/ron-desantis-book.html) review of the book, after the governor told the [New York Post](https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/ron-desantis-takes-the-post-on-tour-of-his-florida-hometown/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top) he wants to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C. [penalize Disney](https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/02/08/desantis-set-to-control-disney-worlds-special-district-under-new-bill-heres-what-it-would-do/) for opposing the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” DeSantis [said](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/former-disney-ceo-privately-complained-desantis-pressure-woke-left-florida-fight-book) former Disney CEO Bob Chapek privately called him before the bill passed and said Chapek “did not want Disney to get involved, but he was getting a lot of pressure to weigh in against the bill,” describing it as “different” from other pressure the company’s gotten in the past. DeSantis appreciated Trump endorsing him for governor in 2018 because he “knew that a Trump endorsement would provide me with the exposure to GOP primary voters across the State of Florida,” and he and Trump “had developed a good relationship” when DeSantis was in Congress because he “supported his initiatives … Florida Gov.

A New York Times book review of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) new memoir is highly critical of the state's top executive. DeSantis's book, “The Courage to ...

“His new book will leave some supporters, who have encouraged DeSantis to ‘humanize himself’ for a national audience, sorely disappointed,” the Times wrote. [New York Times book review](https://thehill.com/tag/new-york-times-book-review/) [Ron DeSantis](https://thehill.com/tag/ron-desantis/) [Ron DeSantis](https://thehill.com/people/ron-desantis/) [News](https://thehill.com/homenews/) [Administration](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/) [Poverty](https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/poverty/) [News](https://thehill.com/homenews/) [See All](https://thehill.com/homenews/) [See all Hill.TV](https://thehill.com/hilltv) [See all Video](https://thehill.com/video) [Healthcare](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/) [News](https://thehill.com/homenews/) [Administration](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/) [Campaign](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/) [See All](https://thehill.com) “The bullying sense of superiority is unmistakable, even when he tries to gussy it up in a mantle of freedom. [review published Monday](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/books/review/ron-desantis-book.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share), Times book critic Jennifer Szalai writes, “the overall sense you get from reading his new memoir is that of the mechanical try-hard — someone who has expended a lot of effort studying which way the wind is blowing in the Republican Party and is learning how to comport himself accordingly.” DeSantis’s book, “The Courage to Be Free,” which will be released Tuesday, and the ensuing media tour that has come with it, are widely seen as a precursor to a potential announcement from the governor that he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' new book, "The Courage to Be Free," leans into the culture wars that established him as one of the early Republican favorites for ...

He brought to the job, he writes, “an understanding of how a constitutional form of government operates, the various pressure points that exist, and the best way to leverage authority to achieve substantial policy victories.” “Keeping Florida free” from Covid-19 restrictions has earned DeSantis criticism from Democrats and health experts – a badge he proudly wears. “When I announced Florida’s back to school policy, perhaps because I did so during the height of the summer COVID-19 wave, there was substantial public opposition to my decision,” DeSantis says. I wanted to be sure that I was using every lever available to advance our priorities,” he writes. DeSantis’ latest book is a defense of his most contentious executive actions, achieved by consolidating power and flexing executive authority, in ways that suggest he has undergone an evolution of his previous principles. “Unfortunately, the sad upshot of these changes is that corporate America has become a major protagonist in battles over American politics and culture. DeSantis argues, “In this environment, old-guard corporate Republicanism is not up to the task at hand.” He omitted, though, that Trump had tweeted a more forceful “full endorsement” of DeSantis just two months before the primary. Trump has claimed DeSantis “begged” for a gubernatorial endorsement in the Republican gubernatorial primary – shed tears even. His relationship with Florida’s largest employer broke down last year as outrage intensified over a Florida bill to limit the instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity. Though he doesn’t blame Trump explicitly, when juxtaposed against his own record compelling Republican lawmakers in his state to act repeatedly in service of his agenda, the implication seems clear. “The Florida Blueprint is a simple formula: be willing to lead, have the courage of your convictions, deliver for your constituents, and reap the political rewards.

Donald Trump attacked Fox News on Truth Social after the network released a poll showing he was still favored over Ron DeSantis.

[have been eying](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-loses-major-donor-after-announcing-2024-campaign-1234631683/) DeSantis as their horse in the race to unseat President Joe Biden, and some of Trump’s former opponents, including Jeb Bush, have already endorsed DeSantis. Florida has become the focal point and experimental sandbox of the GOP’s project to reshape institutions. “They did it in 2020, and we’re not going to let them do it again in 2024.” Nikki Haley and Mike Pence are tied for third at 7 percent. DeSantis gave a preview of what his expected campaign is likely to key on by bashing “the woke.” “Crooked Democrat Prosecutors, many of them Racists in Reverse, are trying to steal a second Presidential Election,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Reminds me of 2016 when they were pushing ‘JEB!’ The new Fox Poll, which have always been purposely terrible for me, has “TRUMP Crushing DeSanctimonious,” but they barely show it. [is “stealing” his bit](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-desantis-rip-off-complaints-1234583383/), and in all fairness, the Florida governor has indeed embraced the vindictive style of culture war-based governance elevated by Trump. [evangelical](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-attacks-evangeliccal-leaders-disloyal-1234662276/) groups and [Jewish leaders](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-bashes-jewish-leaders-not-being-loyal-1234644654/) — in addition to Fox News — of being disloyal to him in the months following the party’s disappointing performance in the midterm elections, for which many [have blamed Trump](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republican-national-committee-probing-trump-blame-midterm-losses-1234656374/) and his obsession with the 2020 election. Trump has responded by leveling all forms of attack against the Florida governor, including [name calling](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mehdi-hasan-win-every-argument-excerpt-1234685087/), [accusationts of pedophilia](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-suggesting-ron-desantis-pedophile-1234675596/), and [petty gossip](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/donald-trump-ron-desatis-2024-gop-primary-rumors-1234628360/). Instead they go with losers like Karl Rove, Paul Ryan and now, even “Yesper,” who have been wrong about everything! [Donald Trump](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/donald-trump/) on Monday accused [Fox News](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/fox-news/) of downplaying his popularity with potential 2024 voters in favor of boosting [potential challenger Ron DeSantis](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/donald-trump-plots-against-ron-desantis-2024-election-1234663645/).

DeSantis on Monday named five new members to the governing body: "There's a new sheriff in town."

Disney, a former DeSantis donor, remains one of the state’s largest employers. “All this bill does is rename Reedy Creek and allow Governor DeSantis to appoint hostile conservative cronies to a new board,” she said. The passage of the law is a part of DeSantis’ crusade seeking to overhaul the education establishment as he positions himself for a presidential run next year. “Disney stepped into the fray. They then voted to replace the president. This is what standing up for Florida taxpayers and the rule of law looks like.” [gets to keep](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-to-keep-special-perks-under-florida-bill-allowing-gov-ron-desantis-to-assume-control-of-special-tax-district-1235320186/) most of the perks that’s allowed the company to self-govern the land on its sprawling theme park resort for over 50 years. The law is intended to corner Disney into keeping quiet on cultural issues, like gender identity and sexual orientation, or risk having him disrupt company operations. “Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” he said Monday at a bill signing ceremony on Disney property. The board will include Brian Aungst Jr., a lawyer and son of a former Republican mayor of one of Florida’s largest cities, Christian Ziegler Bridget Ziegler, a conservative school board member and wife of the Florida Republican party chairman, Ron Peri, CEO of The Gathering USA Ministry, and attorney Michael Sasso, he added. [passed a bill](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/florida-lawmakers-send-bill-meant-to-eliminate-disneys-special-district-to-governors-desk-1235133478/) dissolving independent special districts that were created prior to 1968. Disney initially stayed silent on the legislation, but later opposed it under pressure from employees.

Ron DeSantis appointed Bridget Ziegler, a Sarasota school board member, to oversee Disney's Orlando theme parks.

“All these board members very much would like to see the type of entertainment that all families can appreciate.” He said the board is made up of people who “want to see Disney be what Walt envisioned.” DeSantis also suggested, however, that the new board might not be a permanent solution. Ziegler’s advocacy for a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” helped [pave the way](https://twitter.com/BridgetAZiegler/status/1517481285375209473) for the Parental Rights in Education act, known to its opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. [last fall](https://twitter.com/BridgetAZiegler/status/1588842876758556673) in response to a story about a school marching band that was asked to cover its Native American logo in order to perform at Walt Disney World. “We want our kids to be kids,” DeSantis said.

You can add his abiding support for one of the worst presidents in US history to the list of reasons the Florida governor should not be the next commander ...

[gross a history](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/donald-trump-ron-desantis-high-school-girls) with women and young girls [as he does](https://jezebel.com/donald-trump-unironically-calls-ron-desantis-a-groomer-1850088284). [many](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/12/ron-desantis-just-as-bad-as-donald-trump-2024) [reasons](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/ron-desantis-2024-election-donald-trump) to fear a Ron DeSantis presidency, despite what some people might be [arguing](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/opinion/desantis-trump-president-comparison.html) in the paper of record today. Trump supported policies that appealed to the base in a way that GOP leaders in the DC swamp had been either incapable of doing or unwilling to do.” Could DeSantis soon have less than positive things to say about the ex-president? “Since Ronald Reagan flew back to California on January 20, 1989, the GOP grass roots had been longing for someone who rejected the old-guard way of doing business and who could speak to their concerns and aspirations. Sure, the two men may not be the best of pals at [this](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/donald-trump-ron-desantis-truth-social-meltdown) [particular](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/ron-desantis-donald-trump-scoreboard) [moment](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/donald-trump-ron-desantis-high-school-girls), but it wasn’t that long ago that DeSantis was proudly dressing one of his kids up [in a MAGA onesie](https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1591837252899962881) and teaching the other to say “make America great again.” And in his new [memoir](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/11/ron-desantis-the-courage-to-be-free-memoir), out this week, the governor of Florida is apparently happy to remind people just how much he once loved—loves?—Trump. Don’t forget the way he once glowingly spoke of the guy. Then he links Trump to Republican hero Ronald Reagan, and claims the seeds of Trump’s presidency were planted back int the ’80s. “Some DC commentators have opined that Donald Trump’s nomination represented a hostile takeover of the Republican Party. [reports](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/22/ron-desantis-book-the-courage-to-be-free-donald-trump) that in The Courage to Be Free, DeSantis offers no shortage of praise for one of the worst presidents in modern history. In addition to the [bigotry](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/ron-desantis-targets-african-american-studies-trans-students-health-care), [bullying](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/college-board-ron-desantis-florida-ap-african-american-studies), and [antidemocratic](http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/ron-desantis-defamation-legislation) [tendencies](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/ron-desantis-new-college-florida), one of those reasons would be his longtime support for Donald Trump. Starting at the very beginning and laying it on extra thick, DeSantis writes: “If someone had asked me, as a kid growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, to name someone who was rich, I—and probably nearly all my friends—would have responded by naming Donald Trump.” It was because of his celebrity status, the governor suggests, that the Queens-born real estate developer was a welcome addition to the 2016 presidential election.

Move comes after Florida governor lashed out at theme park's protest of law restricting sexual orientation discussion in schools.

The feud also reinforced the governor’s brash leadership style, and the coming months will be critical to DeSantis as he builds his profile out beyond Florida. Another person who identified himself as a longtime Disney theme park employee took issue with the company’s policies regarding vaccinations. DeSantis moved quickly to penalize the company, directing lawmakers in the GOP-dominated legislature to [dissolve Disney’s self-governing district](https://apnews.com/article/business-travel-florida-orlando-ron-desantis-5bbb7bd13c5357877f999aab96b33651) during a special legislative session, beginning a closely watched restructuring process. [viewed the bill as retaliation](https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/florida-governor-assumes-control-over-disney-district-board-2023-02-10/) for Disney’s views. “The corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis said during a press event at Lake Buena Vista near Orlando. “We have a situation here that was basically indefensible from a policy perspective,” DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday to remove Disney World's self-governing powers and hand control of the park's Reedy Creek Improvement ...

"We want our kids to be kids," DeSantis said. The new law, which comes amid a feud between DeSantis and Walt Disney Co. "Today, the During a special session earlier this month, Florida lawmakers said the new law would not affect operations at Disney's theme parks. [passed in 1967](https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/05/16/DeSantis-Florida-control-dissolved-Disney-district/6781652741061/) before Walt Disney built the parks, gave Disney the power to elect all of the district's board members, along with control over land development and fire prevention. "There's a new sheriff in town," DeSantis said as he signed the bill Monday.