Presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley clashed over the role of government in regulating private business practices as the former UN ambassador defended Disney.
The media giant and the Governor DeSantis have been locked in a legal battle over the formation of Central Florida Oversight District board, which encompasses Disney’s parks in Florida.
The row erupted when former Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly criticised a 2022 state law banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
Following the comments, the state of Florida stripped Disney of its control over a special tax district where its theme parks are located.
Presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley clashed over the role of government in regulating private business practices as the former UN ambassador defended Disney
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The move gave power to DeSantis, who gained control of the board which governs the company’s 25,000 acres of land and renamed the locality the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which was previously called the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Speaking during the final Republican primary debate before the Jan 15 Iowa caucuses, DeSantis said: "We took on (Walt Disney Co) and we defeated that and we won that fight and our kids are better off.
"Now, Nikki Haley sided with Disney. She invited them to South Carolina."
Haley, who governed South Carolina from 2011 through 2017, replied: "I will always invite businesses to come to South Carolina."
She added: "The one thing you don’t do, is government doesn’t bully our businesses. Ron is determined, anybody that offends him, he goes after them."
The fierce exchange between the two over Disney served to highlight a fundamental difference between the two candidates.
During speeches, DeSantis has often doubled down on how his governing decisions are made within the broader conservative social vision.
In contrast, Haley has voiced a more pragmatic, small-government, business-friendly philosophy.
The media giant and the Governor DeSantis have been locked in a legal battle over the formation of Central Florida Oversight District board, which encompasses Disney’s parks in Florida
ReutersOn Wednesday, Haley said: "Government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people — it was never meant to be all things to all people.
"What we don’t need is government politicising anything and everything."
After months of campaigning, Republican presidential candidates will face the Iowa Caucuses on January 15.
