JERUSALEM (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday shrugged off Disney’s lawsuit towards him as politically motivated, and that it was time for the enduring firm to cease having fun with favorable remedy in his state.

Disney sued DeSantis on Wednesday over the Republican’s appointment of a board of supervisors in its self-governed theme park district, alleging the governor waged a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” after the corporate opposed a regulation critics name, “Don’t Say Gay.”

The authorized submitting is the newest salvo in a greater than year-old feud between Disney and DeSantis that has engulfed the governor in criticism as he prepares to launch an anticipated 2024 presidential bid.

“They’re upset because they’re having to live by the same rules as everybody else. They don’t want to pay the same taxes as everybody else and they want to be able to control things without proper oversight,” DeSantis mentioned throughout a go to to Israel. “The days of putting one company on a pedestal with no accountability are over in the state of Florida.”

DeSantis was talking on the third leg of a global journey meant to burnish his international coverage credentials forward of a possible marketing campaign for the Republican presidential nomination as a key rival to former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis has dived headlong into the fray with Disney, a significant driver of tourism and a font for employment in Florida, as enterprise leaders and White House rivals have bashed his stance as a rejection of the small-government tenets of conservatism.

SEE ALSO: DeSantis v. Disney headed to courtroom over management of theme park district

The battle started final yr after Disney, within the face of great stress, publicly opposed a state regulation that bans classroom classes on sexual orientation and gender identification in early grades, a coverage critics name “Don’t Say Gay.”

DeSantis then took over Disney World’s self-governing district and appointed a brand new board of supervisors to supervise municipal providers within the sprawling theme parks. But earlier than the brand new board got here in, the corporate pushed by an Eleventh-hour settlement that stripped the brand new supervisors of a lot of their authority.

The Disney lawsuit asks a federal decide to void the governor’s takeover of the theme park district, in addition to the DeSantis oversight board’s actions, on the grounds that they have been violations of the corporate’s free speech rights.

In a speech to a convention at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance, DeSantis spelled out his Middle East coverage, talking of the significance of the U.S.-Israel alliance. He mentioned Israel was the one authority that would shield freedom of worship for all in flamable Jerusalem and that the U.S. embassy was rightfully moved to town by the Trump administration, regardless of opposition from Palestinians.

He repeated his opposition to the deal that aimed to rein in Iran’s nuclear program, saying it empowered that nation’s rulers quite than held them again. The Iran nuclear deal handed underneath Obama. His successor, Trump, revoked the U.S. settlement to it.

DeSantis additionally mentioned the U.S. shouldn’t intrude in the best way Israel chooses to be ruled, a direct critique of President Joe Biden, who has voiced considerations a few contentious Israeli authorities plan to overtake the nation’s judiciary.

DeSantis started his multi-country journey in Japan after which traveled to South Korea. After Israel, he heads to Britain.

___

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.

Copyright © 2023 The Washington Times, LLC.

Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com