‘I Do Worry’: Marco Rubio Expresses Concern That DeSantis’s War On Disney is Bad For Business in Florida

 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) appeared to break with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) a bit during an interview with Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, in which Rubio voiced concern over the optics of DeSantis’s ongoing battle with Disney.

“Real quick on the DeSantis Disney battle. I know that former Governor Rick Scott, former Governor Jeb Bush, don’t think we’re at Ron DeSantis should be taking on Disney. Where does Marco Rubio stand?” asked co-host Brian Kilmeade.

“Well, I don’t have a problem with taking on Disney. I think the fundamental question here is if what we’re trying to fix is the fact that Disney had some arrangement that gave them governmental-type powers, I think that’s a perfectly legitimate thing,” Rubio replied before offering some dissent:

I think where it gets problematic in the eyes of some people is when you start creating the idea and I’m not saying we’re there yet as a state, but the idea that somehow, like if you run crossways with us politically, whoever’s in charge, then, you know, you may wind up in the crosshairs of the legislature for political purposes to make a statement at you.

So I don’t think Disney is going to go anywhere. They’ve invested a lot of money and time, and I think that’s going to find itself.

“I do worry that if this happens too many times, businesses that are thinking about coming to Florida are saying maybe we don’t want to go there, because if we get into a firestorm with them politically, they’re going to come after our business,” Rubio argued.

Disney sued DeSantis, the board which has moved to strip Disney of its self-governing rights, and other state officials in federal court on Wednesday, alleging DeSantis has engaged in “a targeted campaign of government retaliation.”

“Again, a hypothetical issue, but I do think Disney is not different than any other company, any other company in the world. And I don’t know why they should have government powers. That’s something that was given to them a long time ago, and that’s up for review every year that the legislature looks at,” he continued pivoting back to his original point.

“I’d just love for the corporations just to stay out of this. They had no business weighing in on any type of bill,” concluded Kilmeade, apparently disavowing all corporate lobbying efforts.

“Well, just ask Budweiser,” agreed Rubio.

“Yeah, absolutely,” said Kilmeade.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing