Disney is getting dragged into politics again. 

For much of 2022 and 2023, Disney found itself locked in a political battle with Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. Issues initially spurred from Disney’s objection to the controversial DeSantis-backed Parental Rights in Education Act legislation in Florida, before exploding into a larger “culture war” issue regarding Disney’s “special district” status in Florida. The issue seems to be resolved through a settlement and a new Disney deal with Florida earlier this year. However, the company has now been dragged back into the political spotlight thanks to the upcoming 2024 United States Presidential Election. 

On September 10th, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will engage in a presidential debate, the first of the cycle since Harris replaced incumbent President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race in July. The debate will be broadcast on Disney-owned ABC, and moderated by the network’s David Muir and Linsey Davis. 

Tuesday night’s highly anticipated presidential debate will take place at the National Constitution Center, just steps away from where the U.S. Constitution was drafted and signed in Philadelphia in 1787.

Follow live updates on the debate: https://t.co/AVa07tZIk4

— ABC News (@ABC) September 10, 2024

In the days leading up to the debate, conservative pundit and longtime Trump friend and supporter Sean Hannity spoke out against Disney on his Fox News show. After saying that the debate will not be fair “barring some kind of political miracle,” Hannity claimed that “ABC-Disney is officially a woke, left-wing organization.” He went on to attack Muir, ABC political commentator George Stephanopoulos (who is not moderating the debate), and ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for alleged “hard-core politically left” views. 

From there, Hannity insinuated that any perceived biases against Trump in the debate could lead to a boycott of Disney. The host expounded, “Maybe Bob Iger and his left-wing heir apparent, maybe they don’t want half the country to attend their theme parks. Maybe they don’t care about their tanking stock price, which is their prerogative. They’re free to make that choice, but if they are biased against Donald Trump, as they have been leading into tomorrow night as their nightly newscast is, half the country is not going to like it one bit. They are not going to like ABC-Disney one bit either.”

While Hannity’s oblique threat of a boycott doesn’t seem likely to lead to anything no matter how Tuesday night’s debate goes, Disney has once again been dragged into the political realm. Stay tuned to DFB for further coverage.

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