Ron DeSantis Backing Down Against Disney?

Ron DeSantis has become a very popular guy in the last few years.

It’s understandable why too.

As governor, DeSantis put the hammer down on the ridiculous lockdowns, keeping Florida open during the alleged COVID pandemic.

This obviously pissed off the left, which is always a good sign that it’s the right thing to do.

DeSantis also took a stance against woke culture.

He even went so far as to take on Disney itself.

Last year, DeSantis signed a bill threatening to revoke Disney’s special district status.

That was then…

Now, DeSantis is quietly backtracking by pushing a new bill to restore Disney’s tax breaks.

This has left many claiming that DeSantis simply folded to Disney.

What is going on here?

Ron DeSantis backs down on Disney. Restores their tax exempt status. Three guesses as to who pressured him to do this. The first two don't count.https://t.co/rImWgHg4Ew

— E. Michael Jones (@EMichaelJones1) February 12, 2023

Here are details from Big League Politics:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is folding to woke Disney, pushing a bill in the state legislature to quietly restore their special tax breaks after posturing publicly against the megacorp.

DeSantis is making the capitulation even as he and RINO Republican leaders in the state claim that they are punishing Disney – the exact opposite of what is happening.

“The bill maintains the current tax-exempt status of property of the district and bonds issued by the district,” the analysis of DeSantis’ measure states.

DeSantis is using sleight of hand to claim he is cracking down on Disney when he is really giving them what they want and enabling Disney’s campaign contributions to fill Republican coffers in the years to come.

NEW — A year ago, in his zeal to punish Disney for publicly opposing his so-called "Don't Say Gay" Bill, Ron DeSantis set ticking a $1.2 billion property tax bomb.

He is now a signature away from defusing it.https://t.co/HxogedUZ6F

— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) February 21, 2023

The Huffington Post also reported on this decision:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one signature away from defusing a $1.2 billion tax bomb he himself activated a year ago when he rammed through legislation aimed at punishing the Walt Disney Co. for criticizing his “Don’t say gay” law a month earlier.

A new bill passed the Florida Legislature on Feb. 10 that renames the taxing district that governs Disney’s expansive Central Florida parcel and gives the Republican governor the power to name its board while largely leaving the district’s financial structure untouched.

More important to local property owners ― and DeSantis’ likely 2024 presidential run ― is that it repeals last year’s hastily passed law that would transfer Reedy Creek Improvement District’s accumulated $1.2 billion in bond debt onto Orange and Osceola counties were it to take effect on schedule on June 1. The 700,000 or so homeowners and businesses would have seen their property tax bills increase by thousands of dollars each through 2038, when Disney’s bonds would finally be repaid.

Many are quite unhappy with DeSantis for backing down here.

Some claim he was simply playing the game..

DECEIT: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Caves to Woke Disney, Pushes Bill to Quietly Restore Special Tax Breakshttps://t.co/YlLsMTmgLs pic.twitter.com/0Un8ROG0MV

— 🇺🇸 Pamela Geller 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@PamelaGeller) February 12, 2023

Sadly, Desantis caved to BlackRock and still allows them to manage $13B of Florida’s money. Similarly, he caved to Disney and allowed Disney to keep their tax exempt status. pic.twitter.com/Ed9z7Fgofu

— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) February 14, 2023

https://twitter.com/Pmfjfla/status/1628543989027688449?s=20

What changed in the last couple weeks?

1. DeSantis has been outed for working with establishment to oust Trump

2. DeSantis held event with Dominion’s attorney and praised her

3. DeSantis allowed Disney to remain tax exempt

4. Soros said he wants DeSantis to run & beat… pic.twitter.com/DnALv7ifPT

— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) February 23, 2023

How did DeSantis “fight Disney wokeism” when Disney gets to keep their special district that was literally created by the CIA? DeSantis didn’t want to combat wokeism. He did this to consolidate power. Now he gets to hand select all 5 board members for Reedy Creek.

DeSantis lied. pic.twitter.com/kb2Alnwxa1

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) February 13, 2023