Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Republican-majority legislation that removes Walt Disney World’s special tax exemption. This was in response to the company’s current leadership and some of its employees who have protested another bill signed by the governor that prohibits the teaching of gender issues in kindergarten through third grade. Activists and the media have mislabeled it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, though the word “gay” appears nowhere in the legislation.
Walt Disney World was created tax breaks and was extended other privileges nearly 50 years ago because lawmakers then believed it would create jobs, attract tourists, and produce sales tax revenue. It’s been an enormous success. $5 billion annually to the state.
Until recently, the Disney organization stayed out of the culture wars and politics, preferring to maintain the vision founder Walt Disney had for what came to be known as “family entertainment.”
Was Walt Disney’s death in 1966 a reflection of how Walt Disney would see his company today?
In Neal Gabler’s biography “Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination,” we learn that while Walt was sometimes opinionated, especially when it came to his anti-communism beliefs, he wanted to keep Disneyland, Disney World and his animated characters free of politics, preferring fantasy and storytelling.
Gabler writes: “…Walt hadn’t really been a conservative or a Republican or much of anything else for the better part of his adult life. … He had voted for Roosevelt in 1936 … and though he had supported Republican Wendell Willkie in 1940 … he declined a request from the Willkie campaign for an endorsement, writing, ‘(A) long time ago I found out that I knew nothing whatsoever about the game of politics and since then I’ve preferred to keep silent about the entire matter rather than see my name attached to any statement that was not my own.’”
Gabler discovered a letter written by someone urging Walt not to make a film reel featuring patriotic music and flags. Walt responded, “I don’t go in for billboard patriotism.” Joe Grant, who Gabler says accompanied Walt on several wartime visits to Washington said of him, “He was very apolitical, believe me.”
That wasn’t entirely true. Walt joined several conservatives, writes Gabler, including Ginger Rogers, George Murphy (who later became a Republican senator from California) and Robert Montgomery “in forming a Hollywood Republican Committee to counteract the more liberal Progressive Citizens of America.”
The difference is that the anti-communists tried to protect America’s traditions and the progressive left attempted to destroy them. The dustup between Disney leadership & Gov. reflects little change. Ron DeSantis was one of many examples.
According to Gabler, Walt also supported Thomas Dewey during the 1944 presidential campaign. This allowed a Dewey rally at the studio. The candidate was also addressed by Walt at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Despite these instances and Walt’s association with what Gabler calls “red baiters,” he deliberately kept politics out of his films and theme parks. As Gabler writes, “In effect, despite his Republicanism, Walt Disney belonged to everyone.”
This is the pattern that current Disney leadership is not following, and it is why they are now facing what should be predictable consequences. The Disney organization should follow the vision and example of its founder and not engage in statements and actions that can only undermine his vision and the company’s success. If they don’t reverse course, it could lead to an irreparable tarnishing of the Disney brand and what has long been considered a “magic kingdom.”
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