Donald Trump’s Attack on ‘Woke’ Disney Has One Major Problem

Donald Trump has come under fire on social media after suggesting Ron DeSantis is partially responsible for Disney becoming what he described as “a Woke and Disgusting shadow of its former self.”

His attack on the Florida governor comes even though many of the changes at Disney that have offended conservatives took place during his presidency.

The former president insisted DeSantis “should have stopped” the alleged change in Disney’s culture “long ago,” adding that “would have been easy to do. “

DeSantis announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, during a Twitter Spaces discussion which was marred by technical difficulties. Polling indicates the Florida governor is Trump’s closest rival for the GOP nomination, although he has fallen significantly behind over the past few months.

On Sunday, Trump took aim at DeSantis on his Truth Social website, suggesting the governor had been too lenient with Disney since assuming office in January 2018.

He wrote: “Disney has become a Woke and Disgusting shadow of its former self, with people actually hating it. Must go back to what it once was, or the ‘market’ will do irreparable damage. This all happened during the Governorship of ‘Rob’ DeSanctimonious.

“Instead of complaining now, for publicity reasons only, he should have stopped it long ago. Would have been easy to do – Still is!”

However, many of the creative decisions Disney took which most angered conservatives occurred during Trump’s presidency, in some cases before DeSantis had assumed office.

Star Wars movies The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker were both panned by right-wing critics, following their release in December 2017 and December 2019 respectively. Attacks focused on the protagonist Rey, who was labeled a ‘Mary Sue,’ meaning a woman with inexplicably high abilities, in what actress Daisy Ridley suggested was a “sexist” attack. Some also posted racist remarks about the movies’ racial diversity, with criticism concentrated on characters Finn and Rose Tico, played by John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran respectively.

In June 2020, Disney announced it would revamp the iconic rollercoaster ride Splash Mountain, which was based on imagery from the 1946 movie Song of the South, which has been widely criticized as racist. Instead, the attraction is themed on The Princess and the Frog, with the lead character Princess Tiana described as “a modern, courageous, and empowered woman.”

Four months later, also during Trump’s presidency, Disney added warning notices for racially insensitive material to classic movies such as Peter Pan, Jungle Book and Dumbo, on its Disney+ streaming service.

The warnings read: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now.”

A number of conservatives hit back at Trump over his post on Twitter. Scott Morefield, a writer for “#1 conservative website” Townhall.com, tweeted: “First, Trump criticized DeSantis for taking on woke Disney in the first place. Now, it’s just that he didn’t do it right, or something. How anybody is still buying what this clown is selling at this point is beyond me.”

DeSantis supporter Bill Mitchell, who has nearly 420,000 Twitter followers, added: “Oh wait. Now Trump is AGAINST Disney and just like ending the Ukraine War stopping Disney from going woke would be ‘easy to do?’

“Now after DeSantis ripped away all of Disney’s corporate welfare and self governance, Trump says all he did was ‘complain.’

“Trump said DeSantis overreached with Disney and now he says he underreached? Folks, I think Trump is losing his mind.”

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump for comment via the press inquiry form on his official website.

The feud between DeSantis and Disney began in March 2022 when the company criticized his Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by critics. This legislation banned Florida schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity up until a certain age.

In response, DeSantis stripped Disney of the self-governing authority it enjoyed around its Florida parks, sparking legal action from the entertainment giant which claimed its First Amendment rights were being infringed.