Haley Courts Disney: S.C. ‘Not Sanctimonious’

Nikki Haley is capitalizing on Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ public sparring with Disney, inviting the entertainment giant to move to her home state of South Carolina.

“Hey @Disney, my home state will happily accept your 70,000+ jobs if you want to leave Florida,” Haley tweeted Wednesday. “We’ve got great weather, great people, and it’s always a great day in South Carolina!

“SC’s not woke, but we’re not sanctimonious about it either.”

The sanctimonious quip borrows a moniker former President Donald Trump has placed on DeSantis after his campaign ad late in the 2022 midterms claimed DeSantis was delivered to Floridians during the COVID-19 pandemic by the hand of God.

Haley’s Disney welcoming call echoes one from a North Carolina state Democrat earlier this month that urged the theme park to pick up and move to North Carolina.

Haley says her home state is “very anti-woke,” too, but it is also very pro-business.

“You know, as governor, I took a double-digit unemployment state and I turned it into to an economic powerhouse,” Haley said in a cable TV interview Wednesday. “Businesses were my partners, because if you take care of your businesses, you take care of your economy. Your economy takes care of the people and everyone wins.

“If Disney would like to move their hundreds of thousands of jobs to South Carolina and bring the billions of dollars with them, I’ll let them know I’ll be happy to meet them in South Carolina and introduce them to the governor and the Legislature that would welcome it.”

Disney sued DeSantis on Wednesday, alleging the governor waged a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” after the company opposed Florida’s move to keep schools from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity.

The lawsuit was filed in Tallahassee, Florida, minutes after a Disney World oversight board appointed by DeSantis voted to void a deal that gave the company authority over design and construction decisions in its sprawling properties near Orlando.

“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” the lawsuit reads. “But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain state officials.”

The legal filing is the latest salvo in a more than year-old feud between Disney and DeSantis that has engulfed the governor in criticism as he prepares to launch an expected presidential bid in the coming months.

“We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state,” DeSantis spokeswoman Taryn Fenske said in a statement. “This lawsuit is yet another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters and operate outside the bounds of the law.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.