Gov. Larry Hogan Slams DeSantis For Attacking Disney: ‘We Have a Thing Called Freedom of Speech’

CNN’s Dana Bash sat down with Republican Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) on Sunday and discussed a variety of topics from the war in Ukraine to the 2022 midterm elections. However, Hogan’s comments regarding his fellow Republican governor, Florida’s Ron DeSantis, were particularly noteworthy as he pulled no punches in calling DeSantis out for hypocrisy.

Bash asked Hogan to weigh in on DeSantis saying he will “retaliate” against Disney and the controversy, in general, surrounding Florida’s recently passed House Bill 1557, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill.

DeSantis and right-wing media have been on a crusade against Disney since the company said through a spokesperson that the bill “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.” Disney also vowed to help repeal the vaguely worded bill which bans instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation for public school children from Kindergarten to the third grade, while giving a legal mechanism for parents to sue over the issue.

Hogan, who is a popular Republican leading a blue state, answered Bash saying he “didn’t see all the details of the legislation” but “the whole thing seems like just a crazy fight.”

“It concerns me that DeSantis is always talking about he was not demanding that businesses do things, but he was telling the cruise lines what they had to do,” arguing that DeSantis’ famed “free state of Florida” rhetoric doesn’t always live up to the reality of his policies.

“He was telling local schools what they… Mandating. And now he wants to criticize Disney for expressing how they feel about that bill,” Hogan continued.

“They have every right to, we have a thing called freedom of speech and they can come out say what they think,” Hogan added.

He concluded by saying that he thought the bill was “absurd” and “not something that would have happened in our state.”

Watch the full clip above via CNN