Kevin McCarthy Caves, Calls on Ron DeSantis to End ‘Feud’ With Disney

Welp, just when Kevin McCarthy begins to score high marks among Republican lawmakers who opposed his bid for the Speakership, he does something stupid: the House Speaker on Thursday told CNBC’s Squawk Box that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should “sit down and negotiate” with Disney and “solve the problem.”

“The problem”? The governor of Florida, doing his best to force Disney to follow the same rules as other corporations in the Sunshine State, is a “problem,” Mr. Speaker? How so? Nonetheless, McCarthy opined:

Why wouldn’t you sit down and negotiate and talk? If there’s [sic] differences, you can always find ways that you can solve this problem. If you think that the only action is to go to court, I believe that’s wrong.

Great idea, Kevin.

So, how exactly do you propose that DeSantis simply “solve the problem” — with a woke corporation that continues to promote on-screen LGBT sexual relationships between teens, criticizes the governor’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricts classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity, and removes the iconic (“racist”) song ‘Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’ from the Magic Kingdom’s playlist?

As my colleague Joe Cunningham reported on Wednesday, Disney filed a lawsuit against what it calls “government retaliation,” claiming DeSantis is engaged in a “targeted campaign” of retaliation following the company’s stance against the governor’s Parental Rights in Education Act.

The whole thing gets sillier. First, here’s more from McCarthy — then we’ll go to reality.

This is a big employer inside Florida. I think the governor should sit down with them. I don’t think the idea of building a prison next to a place that you [sic] bring your family is the best idea. I think it’d be much better if you sat down and solved the problems.

Memo to Kevin: DeSantis was joking about building a state prison next to Disney World. Here’s the full quote.

You look at this whole special district, well Disney Corporation obviously own a lot of it, but the district owns other land. You know, quite frankly, I wasn’t even thinking about that land — this was not something that was really that important one way or another. We just wanted them to live under the same rules, pay the debt, pay the taxes, all that stuff.

But come to think of it, people are now like ‘What should we do with this land?’ … People have said, maybe create a state park, maybe have more amusement parks — someone even said ‘Maybe we even need another state prison’ [laughter begins] Who knows; I just think the possibilities are endless.

Humor, Kevin, humor.

DeSantis openly speculating about what the state could build next to Walt Disney World:

“Someone even said, maybe you need another state prison…” pic.twitter.com/dlZ2r2OAqZ

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 17, 2023

Incidentally, McCarthy’s not the Lone Ranger among Republicans siding with Disney. 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday all but begged Disney to relocate to South Carolina, and bring along its 70,000 jobs, as well.

Hey Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida. We’ve got great weather, great people, and it’s always a great day in South Carolina! SC’s not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either.

Another clear shot at DeSantis from Haley. Why it’s “almost” like Nikki Haley is locked in a steel-cage death match with Kari Lake for the veep slot, in what they both assume will be Trump’s third presidential election contest.

Hey @Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida.

We’ve got great weather, great people, and it’s always a great day in South Carolina!

SC’s not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either. pic.twitter.com/uf1PWQjGc5

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 26, 2023

Speaking of Trump, the former president also sided with Disney, but unlike Haley’s approach, the Donald went full metal Trumpian with yet another sophomoric attack against DeSantis.

DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney. His original P.R. plan fizzled, so now he’s going back with a new one in order to save face. 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. Watch! That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is so unnecessary, a political STUNT!

None of the above is going to happen. And, yes — “DeSanctus” is sophomoric.

Trump surrenders again. Surrenders to donor money. Surrenders to Bud Light. Surrenders to trans. Surrenders to Disney. Weak! pic.twitter.com/sHPjQEAn4p

— Marcus (@MarcusHUSA) April 18, 2023

Other notable Republicans who’ve criticized DeSantis over his ongoing battle with Disney include Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The Bottom Line

While the 2024 Republican nomination is largely the reason for the GOP’s internecine war — in this case, the battle between DeSantis and Disney — is there any question that true conservatives are most opposed to super woke Disney’s embrace of the LBGTQ movement to the point of promoting it in their public content?

Yet, we have self-proclaimed conservatives like Kevin McCarthy, Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, and wingnut Chris Christie siding with the woke mouse over the governor of Florida. Huh. Imagine that.