Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and other potential GOP presidential hopefuls slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 handling of his ongoing feud with Disney this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi [Jinping] … or sitting across from [President Vladimir] Putin and trying to resolve what\u2019s happening in Ukraine, if you can\u2019t see around a corner [Disney CEO] Bob Iger created for you,\u201d Christie said Tuesday during a livestreamed interview with Semafor, adding: \u201cI don\u2019t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative, based on his actions towards Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSantis has been in a back-and-forth with Disney over the control over the thousands of acres that\u2019s home to the Magic Kingdom and other theme parks. In February, Disney quietly, through a bureaucratic vote, gained back control<\/a> of the Orlando-area park \u2014 though state officials didn\u2019t learn of it until March. Disney\u2019s move left DeSantis administration officials scrambling to respond<\/a>, and the governor ordered an investigation<\/a> into the California-based corporation. DeSantis is widely expected to run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, but has not yet announced his bid.<\/p>\n Former President Donald Trump also criticized DeSantis\u2019 feud with Disney on Tuesday, writing in a Truth Social post that DeSantis is being \u201cabsolutely destroyed by Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDisney\u2019s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor \u2014 In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing. Watch! That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT! Ron should work on the squatter MESS!\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who has strongly hinted at a 2024 bid<\/a>, said DeSantis\u2019 feud with Disney is becoming a tit-for-tat because it\u2019s not going as he had planned.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, this has gone from kind of going after a headline to something that has devolved into an issue, and it convolutes the entire Republican message,\u201d Sununu said on CNN on Monday night. \u201cI just don\u2019t think \u2014 it\u2019s not good for Governor DeSantis. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s good for the Republican party.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nikki Haley-launched leadership PAC Stand for America PAC said in a statement that after the Florida governor\u2019s latest bid to \u201cone-up Mickey Mouse after a devastating and embarrassing blow to his efforts to rein in Disney World, Ron DeSantis has proposed some new neighbors to the amusement park \u2013 criminals.\u201d The former ambassador to the United Nations launched her presidential bid<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n The PAC\u2019s statement references DeSantis\u2019 comments Monday<\/a> that Florida might consider building a prison next to land owned by Disney.<\/p>\n Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for DeSantis, said in a statement that \u201cthere\u2019s no need to respond to any critics\u201d because DeSantis had a news conference on the matter on Monday, and the \u201cgovernor very clearly laid out his philosophy behind his efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDisney had extraordinary special privileges and an unfair special advantage compared to other businesses in the state,\u201d Griffin said.<\/p>\n At that news conference, DeSantis announced that the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature would try to change state law to subject the company theme parks to new inspections, and said Disney was \u201cnot superior to the laws that are enacted by the people of the state of Florida. That\u2019s not going to work, that\u2019s not going to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n In his Tuesday interview, Christie said that he\u2019d make a decision in the next couple of weeks on whether he\u2019ll run for president in 2024. Christie was seen speaking to more than three dozen of his former staffers and advisers<\/a> on Monday night in Washington about a possible 2024 presidential run.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we go forward, we want all of you to be with us,\u201d Christie told the room on Monday. \u201cThank you to all of you for everything you\u2019ve already done for us. It\u2019s been really, really an amazing ride. And you know what? It might not just be over yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Christie said on Tuesday that the field for 2024 looked \u201cvacant compared to what I dealt with in 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n