Group backing DeSantis attacks Nikki Haley for pro-Disney comments

A group backing Gov. Ron DeSantis for president is targeting potential rival Nikki Haley for being too friendly to Disney.

The independent PAC Never Back Down is spending “six figures” on a digital ad attacking former South Carolina governor Haley for her calling on Walt Disney World to move to her state in the wake of its lawsuit against DeSantis, spokeswoman Erin Perrine wrote on Twitter.

The gist of the digital ad, running in South Carolina, is that Disney has an alleged pro-LGBTQ agenda and “Mickey Haley” is tarnished by her quotes sympathizing with the company.

Haley only polls at 3% and 4% with GOP primary voters in recent surveys by Emerson College and Fox News, respectively, compared to the huge margins that former President Donald Trump has opened up against DeSantis in recent weeks.

She and DeSantis were polling neck-and-neck in her home state, where a Winthrop University poll from earlier this month had DeSantis with 20% support in a GOP primary and Haley with 18%. But Trump pulled in more support than both of them combined at 41%, and the GOP primary there is winner-take-all.

Haley had told Fox News on Wednesday that, “If Disney would like to move their hundreds of thousands of jobs to South Carolina and bring billions of dollars with them …I’ll be happy to meet them [and] introduce them to the governor and the Legislature that would welcome it.”

Her comments came shortly after Disney filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and his handpicked tourism oversight board for a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” against them because its former CEO opposed the so-called “don’t say gay” law.

The suit came within minutes of the board voting to invalidate the agreements the company made with the outgoing board.

The ad shows out-of-context snippets of what it says are Disney officials talking about the LBGTQ community.

“We have many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories,” a woman states, followed by rapid, intercut clips of other people. One listed “canonical trans characters, canonical asexual characters, canonical bisexual characters” and another mentioned “kids who are transitioning.”

The footage appears to come from a leaked video purported to be of Disney executives that has been propagated throughout conservative media as proof of Disney being “woke.” DeSantis has often quoted from the video when talking about his actions against Disney.

A line in his book, stating that “Disney had clearly crossed a line in its support of indoctrinating very young schoolchildren in woke gender identity politics,” was specifically cited by Disney in its lawsuit as proof of a targeted campaign against them.

The ad also shows drag queen Nina West appearing on the 2021 live Disney+ special “‘This Is Me’ Pride Celebration Spectacular.” It quotes West talking about “a fellow queen[’s] … Disney+ inspired look,” but not West’s prior quote in that segment about the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s work to provide safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ students.

It ends with a silhouette of Haley holding hands with Mickey Mouse designed to look like the statue of Walt Disney and his creation holding hands at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

DeSantis has not announced a bid for president yet, though NBC News reported that he may launch an exploratory committee in mid-May. An amendment to an elections bill would grant him the power to announce a run for the White House without having to tender his resignation.