Fox Business host Larry Kudlow said Friday that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida’s presidential campaign is hurt because he has no economic agenda and “is too much woke.”
“You saw last night on the Hannity show President Trump walking through his achievements on energy, on lower taxes, on deregulation, and the promise of more. Mr. DeSantis, I will say this, Mr. DeSantis, who is a smart guy, was a good Governor of Florida, does not have an economic agenda,” Kudlow, a former economic adviser to former President Donald Trump, told “America’s Newsroom” co-hosts Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino.
“I think his problem is he does not have an economic agenda, a future economic agenda,” Kudlow added. “I think Donald Trump does. And I think that’s one of the biggest reasons for Trump’s lead.”
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Kudlow also criticized DeSantis for being critical of the debt ceiling deal Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached with President Joe Biden.
“It was a huge victory for Kevin McCarthy. It wasn’t a victory for Joe Biden. It was a gigantic victory for Kevin McCarthy,” Kudlow said. “It was a huge step, a huge first step, back towards conservative governance and conservative economic principles. That’s what I’ll say on that.”
“I think Mr. DeSantis, who if he won is going to have to work with McCarthy, made a huge mistake attacking it repeatedly over Memorial Day weekend,” Kudlow continued. “Ron DeSantis is too much woke.”
Kudlow hit DeSantis over the Florida governor’s feud with Disney, which stemmed from his signing of parental rights legislation in March 2022 that the company opposed. Trump, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey criticized DeSantis over the Disney feud.
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DeSantis approved legislation that ended Disney’s self-governance and special provisions provided through the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which Disney reportedly attempted to undermine with last-second agreements. Disney filed suit against DeSantis over the legislation on April 26.
“I think people are looking at that and scratching their head and saying, ‘Why are you going after a business? Why can’t you sit down with Bob Iger, the CEO, and make a deal?’” Kudlow said. “Too much woke, not enough economic agenda.”
Disney Lawsuit Against DeSantis
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Thursday disqualified himself from overseeing a lawsuit filed by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts against Gov. Ron DeSantis and DeSantis appointees, saying he had a relative who is a stockholder in the entertainment giant.
DeSantis and members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board asked Walker to step aside from the case, pointing to comments he made about the state retaliating against Disney in unrelated legal matters.
On Thursday, Walker’s ruling called the state’s request “wholly without merit” and “nothing more than rank judge-shopping.”
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But the ruling said the case “involves significant economic interests for its (Disney’s) parent corporation, in which my third-degree relative owns stock.”
Walker, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said he was erring on “the side of caution” by disqualifying himself.
“Maintaining public trust in the judiciary is paramount, perhaps now more than ever in the history of our Republic,” Walker wrote.
The case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
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In the lawsuit, Disney alleged it has been the victim of “targeted campaign of government retaliation” that now “threatens business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights.”
DeSantis and Disney began clashing after the company opposed a controversial 2022 law that restricts instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools — a law that supporters titled “Parental Rights in Education” but detractors called “don’t say gay.”
Legislators ultimately stripped Disney of its self-governing powers over a special district, which was renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, and gave DeSantis the power to appoint district board members.
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