Miami mayor says DeSantis ‘personal vendetta’ with Disney is costing state

by Lauren Sforza - 05/18/23 7:52 PM ET

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for his “personal vendetta” with Disney, saying the yearlong feud has cost the state jobs and investments.

“Look, he took an issue that was a winning issue that we all agreed on, which was parental rights for K through third-graders,” Suarez told NewsNation’s Blake Burman on “The Hill.” “And it looks like now it’s … spite or maybe potentially a personal vendetta, which has cost the state now potentially 2,000 jobs in a billion-dollar investment.”

Suarez’s comments come after Disney announced Thursday that it would be tossing its plans to build a new, billion-dollar office complex in Florida that was set to bring thousands of jobs to the region.

“I mean, that’s the kind of stuff that Joe Biden does, you know, he canceled the Keystone pipeline and other pipelines out of spite that cost Americans 42,000 jobs,” Suarez said. “And you know, one thing that he has in common with the president is he hasn’t spent much time in the private sector. And I wonder if that influences his thinking on some of this stuff.”

DeSantis has faced criticism from Republicans over his lengthy battle with Disney after the company voiced opposition to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which banned the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation to certain grade levels.

DeSantis then stripped Disney of the special status the company had for decades, which gave it self-governing power over the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Disney sued DeSantis last month after a DeSantis-appointed board voided previous agreements the company made, alleging that the governor is harming the company’s business operations.

Disney CEO Bob Iger had questioned last week whether state officials would like Disney to keep investing in the state, pointing to the high number of jobs and tourists the theme parks bring each year.

“I’m going to finish what is obviously kind of a long answer by asking one question: Does the state want us to invest more, employ more people and pay more taxes, or not?” Iger asked.