The Ratcatcher

In an exclusive interview with The American Conservative, Florida’s Ron DeSantis explains his war with Disney for the soul and sovereignty of America.

For the past fourteen months, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and the Walt Disney Company have been at war. I traveled down to Tallahassee, about 250 miles northwest of the Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s home base in the Sunshine State, to interview DeSantis about Florida’s campaign against Mickey and the Magic Kingdom.

It started last March over a piece of legislation that prohibited teaching students below third grade about divergent sexual and gender identities—and the instruction that inevitably comes with these themes. The fighting intensified as the governor and Florida’s elected representatives tried to find ways to rein in Disney’s power. The fight has been particularly intense for the past ninety days or so, as the governor and legislators sprang their rat trap.

If DeSantis and his allies have their way, the war will end with the dismantling of Disney’s numerous special privileges granted by the state, which the company has enjoyed for the last half-century, including the ability essentially to govern itself via the Reedy Creek Improvement District. DeSantis recently signed legislation doing precisely that. But first, Mickey wants his day in court. This is America, after all.

Join TAC as we gather leading members of Congress to set the tone for a conservative foreign policy of restraint on Capitol Hill on June 8!