House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) put Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on blast over “the idea of building a prison next to a place that you bring your family” as he criticized the governor over his feud with Disney. (You can hear his remarks below)
McCarthy’s comments come after the Walt Disney Co. sued DeSantis on Wednesday following what the company described as the governor’s efforts to kickstart “a targeted campaign of government retaliation” in the wake of its “Don’t Say Gay” bill criticism.
The feud between the Florida governor and Disney has grown in intensity over the past few weeks with DeSantis’ efforts to take the helm of the company’s self-governing district and his suggestion that a state prison could be built nearby Walt Disney World Resort.
McCarthy, during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday, said he’d give DeSantis the same advice on Disney that he’d give President Joe Biden: “Why would you sit down and negotiate and talk?”
“If there’s differences you can always find ways that you can solve this problem,” said McCarthy.
“If you think that the only action is to go to court, I believe that’s wrong... instead of solving it. This is a big employer inside Florida. I think the governor should sit down with them. I don’t think the idea of building a prison next to a place that you bring your family is the best idea.”
McCarthy added that large employers in the state should “abide by the rules” and doesn’t think they should get into politics, a take that CNBC’s Becky Quick questioned.
“Run your business and don’t get into politics meaning you can’t take ever a position on anything?” asked Quick.
″You can take whatever position you want but remember if you’re elected to run a business, that’s what your shareholders want you do,” said McCarthy, who compared businesses making political statements to going out of their “lane” like in the game Frogger.
(H/T Mediaite)
