Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to criticism from one of the Republican Party’s biggest donors who is still on the sidelines in the 2024 race.
"I have six, five and three-year-old kids at home. The idea that we are going to allow a company to come in and try to wreak havoc on our education system, injecting transgender ideology in elementary school, negating parents’ rights, that is non-negotiable for me," the 2024 GOP presidential candidate told "Varney & Co." Tuesday. "We will stand up for our kids. We will stand up for our parents."
Citadel CEO and billionaire GOP donor Ken Griffin told CNBC he’s not currently supporting DeSantis’ campaign after backing him in 2022.
Though Griffin applauded DeSantis in Monday’s interview for how he governed the Sunshine State during his first term, the CEO said that "it’s not clear to me what voter base he is intending to appeal to," adding that he has an issue with the waging war on Disney.
DISNEY TO DOUBLE INVESTMENT IN PARKS AND CRUISES
"The ongoing battle with Disney, I think, is pointless," Griffin told CNBC’s Sara Eisen. "It doesn’t reflect well on the ethos of Florida."
"Yes, they're the granddaddy of them all when it comes to Florida politics," DeSantis countered on FOX Business Tuesday. "But I'm happy to stand in the way of that and push back."
"If we can't get the education right, if we can't agree as a society that it's wrong to tell a second-grader that they can change genders," the governor continued, "then this country is just not going to succeed."
DeSantis’ debacle with the Walt Disney Company started when Disney publicly spoke out against Florida's Parental Rights in Education law, coined the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, which bans classroom instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation in lower grades.
Florida’s governor responded by pushing the state legislature to strip Disney's self-governing authority and create the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which now has control over the park's development.
Since then, Disney has filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and other Florida officials claiming that they violated the company’s First Amendment rights.
"I see our country in decline in a variety of fronts, including in education. We've reversed that decline in Florida," DeSantis said. "And yes, we've had to stand up to Disney to do it, but that was the right thing to do. And I stand by it 100%."
The Walt Disney Company did not immediately respond to FOX News Digital’s request for comment.
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The latest FOX News poll conducted last week found 60% of Republican primary voters back Trump in the primary race, up from 53% in the Fox News pre-debate August survey.
At 13% support, Ron DeSantis saw a downtick of three points since the debate, while Vivek Ramaswamy held steady at 11%. Next is Nikki Haley with 5%, Mike Pence and Tim Scott at 3% each, and Chris Christie at 2%.
FOX Business’ Breck Dumas and FOX News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.
