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(Combo) Created on January 4, 2024, this photo combination features Florida State speaking during the 4th Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on December 6, 2023. Governor Ron DeSantis’ gesture is shown. ( R) Former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley watches the 4th Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 6, 2023.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley clashed Wednesday night over the government’s role in regulating private business conduct in the final Republican primary debate ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses. .
“We took on (Walt Disney), we beat it, we won that battle, and kids’ lives are better,” DeSantis said. “Well, Nikki Haley sided with Disney. She invited them to South Carolina.”
“I’m always going to invite businesses to come to South Carolina,” said Haley, who governed South Carolina from 2011 to 2017.
“One thing you don’t do is don’t let the government bully our business. Ron is determined. Anyone who pisses him off, he goes after them.” she added.
DeSantis’ years of battles with the state’s largest employers have emerged as a key part of his political legacy.
It began after Disney CEO Bob Chapek publicly criticized a 2022 state law that would ban discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. .
Shortly after, the state of Florida moved to strip Disney of its longstanding control over the special tax district where its theme parks are located.
Disney ultimately sued DeSantis and the state of Florida, alleging government retaliation because Chapek opposed the “Don’t Say I’m Gay” law. The Florida Department of Tourism countersued the company, but Disney later withdrew from the suit except for his free speech claims.
Haley and DeSantis’ exchange about Disney highlighted fundamental differences between the two candidates.
In his ads and campaign speeches, Mr. DeSantis often emphasizes how his governing decisions are based on his ideological beliefs and broader conservative social vision.
Haley, by contrast, supports a more pragmatic, small-government, business-friendly philosophy.
“Government is intended to ensure the rights and freedoms of its people, and it was never intended to be all things to all people,” Haley said Wednesday. “What we don’t need is the government politicizing everything.”
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