Christie, Trump target DeSantis over Disney

Former President Trump and ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are each criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday for his handling of a feud with Walt Disney World.

"That’s not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi and negotiating our next agreement with China, or sitting across from Putin and trying to resolve what’s happening in Ukraine, if you can’t see around a corner that [Disney CEO] Bob Iger created for you," Christie, a Republican who appears to have 2024 presidential aspirations, told Semafor during a live interview. "You have to admit when you screwed up and got taken. It happens."

The Florida state legislature, at the urging of DeSantis, last year revoked Disney's special tax district status and allowed the Republican governor to pick the theme park's board members.

However, Disney reached an agreement in February with the outgoing board that made the DeSantis-picked governing body powerless. And the DeSantis administration was unaware of the agreement for a month, according to CNN.

DeSantis responded Monday by threatening to build a prison near Disney-owned land.

"As a conservative, the job of government is … to stay out of the business of business," Christie also said during the interview. "I don't think Ron DeSantis is a conservative."

Trump, who has consistently disparaged DeSantis since last fall, used a new nickname for the governor in an attack Tuesday.

"DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "His original P.R. plan fizzled, so now he’s going back with a new one in order to save face. Disney’s next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the Governor. ... That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT!"

DeSantis, who has not announced whether he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is seen as the closest potential challenger to Trump in the primaries. Christie, who sought the GOP nomination in 2016, told Semafor that he plans on making a decision about whether he is running in 2024 within the next few weeks.