Republicans are the self-described party of small government, business-friendly policies and limited regulation, but Gov. Ron DeSantis’ fights against Disney and transgender rights conflict with those tenets, according to fellow GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie.
If DeSantis wants to be a conservative standard-bearer, Christie said, he has to stay out of people’s private lives and let consumers determine the fate of outspoken, so-called “woke” businesses.
“We’re having a lot of arguments in this country about transgender issues, and there are some — including the Governor or this state — who believe that he should decide what can happen in your family, with your children and not. I don’t want him deciding what happens inside my family,” he said.
“We have this group now, folks like Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy who believe in big government conservatism and if there’s something going on in this country they don’t personally like, they want the government to pass a law to stop it. Sorry, no one knows (or) loves my four children more than me and my wife. I think that applies to every parent out there, (and) I want parents and families to make those decisions.”
Christie’s comments came Friday morning during a campaign stop at CasaCuba Restaurant hosted by Miami’s Community News. For close to two hours, the former New Jersey Governor touched on a variety of subjects, from the Jan. 6 riot and talk about Donald Trump skipping the GOP debate next week to affordable housing, health care reform and a leaked memo of debate tactics by a pro-DeSantis PAC.
DeSantis’ feud with Disney over the media and entertainment giant’s opposition to state laws restricting LGBTQ inclusivity in public schools also drew ire from Christie.
“I don’t agree with some of the things that Disney has said and done. But you know who I think gets to decide those things? Disney and their shareholders,” he said. “And you know who gets to decide whether we want to go there anymore? Us. So if they’re doing stuff and standing up for stuff that you don’t believe in, then don’t go to Disney World — probably a horrible thing to say in Florida, right?”
He threw similar shade at Florida’s Governor for joining a chorus of Republicans throwing tantrums over a trans-friendly Bud Light advertising campaign. In July, DeSantis suggested his administration might sue the beer brand’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch, because the controversial ad campaign had caused a stock downturn that “injured” Floridians reliant on the state pension fund.
“Bud Light made a marketing decision,” Christie said. “That’s their right to do. Turns out to not be a very good one, according to the American people, because you go into any liquor store anywhere in America and let me tell you something, you can get Bud Light on clearance. There’s plenty on the shelves.
“My point to you is the American people should be making these decisions, not the government, because once the government starts to make those decisions, maybe today you like what they’re going after, but tomorrow maybe they’re going after something you like, and you’re not going to like that too much. The best way, I think, for government to be involved in this is not to be. Let consumers make these decisions. That’s what smart conservatism is.”
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