LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday held a news conference in Lake Buena Vista.
DeSantis was joined by Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Administration Building and highlighted the work of the district.
He also commented on the ongoing fight with Disney.
Earlier this month, Disney appealed a judge’s dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Gov. DeSantis’ retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World’s governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal “a mistake.”
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Disney had argued that legislation signed by DeSantis and passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature transferring control of the Disney World governing district from Disney supporters to DeSantis appointees was in retaliation for the company publicly opposing the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. The 2022 law banned classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades and was championed by DeSantis, who had used Disney as a punching bag in speeches on the campaign trail until he suspended his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
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Disney supporters had run the district, which provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, for more than five decades after the Legislature created it in 1967.
Watch the entire news conference in the video player at the top of this story.