Former governor of South Carolina. and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley have invited Disney to move to South Carolina amid a long-running dispute with Florida’s governor. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday.
Disney sued DeSantis Wednesday for pushing a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against the corporation after a yearlong battle with the governor in which he stripped the “Corporate Kingdom” of special privileges. Haley took aim at the Florida governor, who is widely expected to run for president, and toyed with the idea of bringing Disney to his home state. according to Fox News interview.
“If Disney wants to move their hundreds of thousands of jobs to South Carolina and bring billions of dollars with them, I will let them know that I would be happy to meet them in South Carolina and represent the governor and the legislature that would welcome it,” Haley said. told Fox News Wednesday.
Haley continued he blasted DeSantis on Twitter and said South Carolina wasn’t “woke” or “holy,” a play on the Florida governor’s former President Donald Trump’s nickname “Ron DeSanctimonius.”
“As governor, I took double-digit unemployment and turned it into economic strength,” Haley said. “Businesses were my partners, because if you take care of your business, you take care of your economy, your economy takes care of people, and everyone benefits.”
Never Back Down, the DeSantis-affiliated political action committee tasked with running the governor for president, responded To Haley’s words on Twitter.
“Embracing woke corporations and copying Trump’s lame attack at the same time? Someone is really trying hard to audition for VP.” announced the PAC.
The Disney-DeSantis battle began last year when the corporation slammed the governor’s Parental Rights Bill, which critics called the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” and argued that it did not include the LGBTQ community. In late February, the governor signed legislation stripping the corporation of its self-governing rights and created a state oversight board to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the company’s special taxing district.
The corporation anticipated DeSantis’ move and quickly made last-minute arrangements to grant development rights and concessions to Disney, which would require the governor’s state control board to seek approval before making changes. In response, DeSantis introduced legislation on April 17 to nullify Disney’s efforts.
Content created by Mary Lou Masters
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