Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Thursday on CNBC’s Squawk Box” that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) should “sit down and negotiate with the Walt Disney Company.
Co-anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin said, “You probably saw Bob Iger – someone else who is a constituent of yours – now suing the state of Florida and the governor, Ron DeSantis, over what they’re describing as retribution. And in fact, the governor’s been pretty explicit that he is seeking retribution against Disney. There’s lots of folks, even in your own party who I think are uncomfortable about what’s happening here. What do you think?”
McCarthy said, “I’d give him the same advice I gave President Biden. Why wouldn’t you sit down and negotiate and talk? If there’s differences, you can always find ways that you can solve this problem. If you think that the only action is to go to court, I believe that’s wrong place instead of solving it. This is a big employer inside Florida. I think the governor should sit down with them. I don’t think the idea of building a prison next to a place that you bring your family is the best idea. I think it’d be much better if you sat down and solved the problems. At the same point, if you’re going to be a large employer inside this state, you should also abide by the rules and run your business and don’t think you should get into politics.”
Co-host Becky Quick said, “Run your business and don’t get into politics. Meaning you can’t take ever a position on anything?”
McCarthy said, “You can take whatever position you want, but remember, if you’re elected to run a business, that’s what your shareholders want you to do.”
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