Dem Gov Goes After DeSantis For ‘Authoritarian Socialist Attacks’ On Disney, Twitter

Dem Gov Goes After DeSantis For ‘Authoritarian Socialist Attacks’ On Disney, Twitter

Sebastian Hughes on April 20, 2022

Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado said Disney and Twitter should leave Florida Tuesday amid Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “authoritarian socialist attacks” on private businesses.

“Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away,” Polis tweeted. “In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like Disney or Twitter.”

“Hey Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and Twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are,” he added.

DeSantis announced on Tuesday he was asking Florida’s state legislature to consider removing the special taxing district that lets Disney World govern itself, KUSA reported.

The company has criticized the state’s Parental Rights in Education bill, labeled by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prohibits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-3 classrooms and requires school districts to notify parents of changes or services that revolve around their child’s physical or mental health.

Florida’s authoritarian socialist attacks on the private sector are driving businesses away. In CO, we don’t meddle in affairs of companies like @Disney or @Twitter. Hey @Disney we’re ready for Mountain Disneyland and @twitter we’re ready for Twitter HQ2, whoever your owners are https://t.co/r7Vcvu20eb

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) April 19, 2022

Disney CEO Bob Chapek called DeSantis in March to discuss his issues with the bill. The governor agreed to meet with him and Disney’s LGBTQ senior members to hear their concerns with the legislation.

The governor also said he was contemplating taking action against Twitter for using a “poison pill” to stop Elon Musk from taking over the company. A poison pill would allow other shareholders to purchase more shares in the company at a cheaper price, which would theoretically dilute Musk’s ownership stake and stop him from purchasing the number of shares needed to become the controlling stakeholder.

“We’re going to be looking at ways the state of Florida potentially can be holding these Twitter board of directors accountable for breaching their fiduciary duty,” DeSantis said.

A spokeswoman for DeSantis did not immediately respond to a request to comment.