Disney, the giant entertainment corporation that owns ABC, has once again used its broadcast network to attack conservative politicians. This time, it was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that got the brunt of it. Disney’s ABC and Good Morning America accused DeSantis of signing into law a bill that defunds Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs from public colleges and universities.
Former Clinton official and Good Morning America co-host George Stephanopoulos started off the attack, saying “Now to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He’s signed a bill that defunds diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the state colleges and universities as he moves closer to running for the White House.” Chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl then griped that DeSantis was “using the power of his governorship to push hot-button issues appealing to his party’s conservative base.”
It’s worth noting that despite the attack, DeSantis won reelection in November by 19 points, Republicans swept state row offices, and the GOP gained supermajorities in the state legislature (while the state added a congressional seat). It’s clear Disney’s ABC is attacking DeSantis in an attempt to stop him from running for the White House in 2024.
Karl went on to say that DeSantis “claimed a victory in the culture war, signing into law a bill that passed without a single Democratic vote to block Florida’s public colleges from using government funding on programs supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion, sometimes referred to as DEI.” DeSantis even had the audacity to mock DEI as more appropriately titled “discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination.”
Karl then tried to be kinder to “critics” who “say DEI programs are essential to making campuses inclusive and accused DeSantis of imposing his ideology on higher education.” But it was clear that Karl was still against DeSantis’s move, as he went on to mention “student protests” that took place outside the event where DeSantis signed the bill.
Karl also tried to paint DeSantis as a radical who was only trying to win over “Republican primary voters” with his “controversial moves,” such as his abortion law and his DEI law. He then tried to downplay DeSantis’s potential presidential run by citing a poll that showed him “trailing Trump by 26 points.”
Disney’s ABC and Good Morning America have once again demonstrated their willingness to attack conservative politicians in order to push their own liberal agenda. By using childish tactics to try and stop DeSantis from running for president, Disney has shown that it is still at war with conservative ideals.