DeSantis-Backed Board to Set Up Code Enforcement System at Disney World

More than 300,000 Twitter users were logged in at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday to hear Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis begin his 2024 presidential campaign in an announcement address featuring the social media platform’s owner, Elon Musk.

Twitter Spaces launch of his presidential campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has unwittingly walked right into another message-disrupting tech fail, this time on conservative cable news channel Newsmax.Appearing Thursday to promote his campaign, at one point DeSantis was on a tear about the travel advisory the NAACP issued for Florida that cited numerous DeSantis policies it says “erase Black history” and “restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.” And as he delivered a whataboutist spiel about gun violence in Baltimore, Maryland, the television video feed — and only the video feed — froze.The audio was unaffected, as was the newscrawl at the bottom of the screen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially launched his battle with Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. On Wednesday, the conservative politician filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy. That came ahead of DeDantis’ scheduled interview with Twitter owner Elon Musk on the social media platform’s Spaces live-audio feature, set for 6 p.m. ET. DeSantis, 44, has gained national prominence for pursuing an “anti-woke” agenda as governor of the Sunshine State. That has included his very public fight with Disney, ignited by the media conglomerate’s opposition to Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will reportedly announce plans to run for president in 2024 during a live conversation with Elon Musk Wednesday evening on Twitter Spaces.

Elon Musk basically confirmed today that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to announce his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Twitter tomorrow in an interview with the platform’s owner himself.

If the feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to be escalated yet again, parks chief Josh D’Amaro didn’t seem like he would be the one to do it.

If you figured the war between Disney and Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to take a breather for the weekend, think again.

Just over a week ago, Bob Iger rhetorically asked the adversarial  Gov. Ron DeSantis if Florida really wanted Disney’s considerable business and tax revenue, or not. Now, without mentioning the would-be presidential contender nor his attacks on the company, the Mouse House has pulled some of that business and taxes revenues from the Sunshine State.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The Walt Disney Co. has scrapped plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Orlando, as the company continues to wage a political and legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In an email to employees on Thursday, Disney executive Josh D’Amaro said that “considerable changes,” including “new leadership” and “changing business conditions,” had led to the decision to cancel the project. Disney had planned to move 2,000 employees to the Lake Nona complex once it was complete, mostly from the Imagineering division. The company announced the project in 2021, and reports indicated it could have benefited from as much as $500 million in state tax incentives.

Joe Scarborough took some time to crack jokes about gay Republicans in the Senate on Wednesday’s “Morning Joe” after discussion of Florida’s investigation of a teacher who showed her students the Disney film “Strange World,” which features a gay character.Scarborough began with Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, known by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” which has Jenna Barbee is under investigation for potentially violating after she showed her class the film about environmentalism. Scarborough mocked the media reaction to the bill, which at first only applied to kindergarten through third grade for limiting sex education.

Rita Ferro, Disney’s ad sales and partnerships chief, urged media buyers at the company’s New York upfront Tuesday to “lean into all aspects of diversity” with their marketing commitments.

The Walt Disney Co. is asking a judge to dismiss or stay a state lawsuit brought by the special district that oversees its Florida property, calling the litigation “moot” given recent actions taken by the state.

McKinley Franklin editor Jenna Barbee, a fifth-grade Florida teacher, is under investigation by the Florida Department of Education after showing her class the animated Disney movie “Strange World,” which features an openly gay character. In a video posted to TikTok, Barbee said that she is being investigated for indoctrination after showing the film. “Our students had standardized testing all morning,” Barbee said in the video. “I thought it would be a great time to give them a brain break by showing a movie that related to what we were learning about in school…I chose this movie because it relates to our curriculum.” Prior to showing the film, Barbee acquired signed parent permission slips from students. She was then reported to the Florida Department of Education for indoctrination by Shannon Rodriguez, a board member of the Hernando County School District Board and parent of a student in Barbee’s class. The complaint related to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that has limited conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. 

The gloves are off, when it comes to the ongoing brouhaha between Disney CEO Bob Iger and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, which has reached a crescendo with Disney suing the governor last month and the governor suing back. “This is about one thing and one thing only and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in as taking that position, we are merely exercising our right to free speech.

“Does the state want us to invest more, employ more and pay more taxes or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger rhetorically asked today of the on-going attacks on the Mouse House by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

William Earl Disney CEO Bob Iger criticized Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s political moves in Florida on the company’s May 10 Q2 earnings call. The business-political feud was brought up as a result of a shareholder asking about the parks in Florida while there are political battles with the governor. “Regarding Florida, I got a few things I want to say about that bill,” he said. “First of all, if the case that we filed last month, made our position and the facts very clear, and that’s really that this is about one thing and one thing only and that’s retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position we are merely exercising our right to free speech. Also, this is not about special privileges or a level playing field or Disney in any way using its leverage around the state of Florida.

Disney Parks & Experiences generated the bulk of parent profits and about a third of total revenue last quarter with a noteworthy swing in international from Hong Kong to Shanghai to Paris.

were expecting Disney to report earnings of $0.88 per share on revenue of $21.7 billion. Disney shares closed Wednesday at $101.13 per share, down 1% today and 13.7% YTD.

The Walt Disney Co. filed an amended lawsuit against Florida governor Ron DeSantis after the state legislature moved to void a 30-year theme park development agreement.

Disney’s seemingly successful efforts to outfox Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ power grab to control the area around Disney World are “not even worth the paper they were printed on,” according to a countersuit filed Monday by the GOP presidential aspirant’s replacement board.