DeSantis Blasts ‘Corporate Wokeness,’ Vows Backlash Against Firms Pushing ‘Ideology’

In comments at the annual meeting of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the GOP governor often mentioned as a potential 2024 presidential contender told top business leaders he is prepared to take action against any employers who use their corporate “power” to push a political ideology.

“If you’re using your power as a corporation, and you’re leveraging that to try to advance any ideology, I think it’s very dangerous for this country and I’m not just gonna sit idly by,” DeSantis said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “Do you want to be more of a political actor or more of a business actor?”

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He went on to mention Major League Baseball’s decision to move this year’s All-Star Game out of Atlanta, as well as the draft, over opposition to state Republicans’ election integrity reforms.

“Don’t ever think that caving to the mob is going to save your bacon,” DeSantis warned. “That’s just going to cause them to come back more.”

“You know, if you do it, you are also going to come by some people on the other side, like me, who are going to say well, wait a minute, if you’re going to criticize what we’re doing I may criticize some of the things you are doing,” he warned.

“I may look under the hood and not like some things. … I got a podium. I got cameras that will follow me around. Maybe I’ll go talk about that a little bit. And so, I think it’s something that’s very damaging,” he added.

DeSantis went on to say that Republican voters have turned against corporations because more and more of them are beginning to adopt and push left-wing ideologies.

“I think corporate America has lost so much [support]. … Most [Republican voters] hate corporations now,” the GOP governor said. “They hate them because they see these big companies that are really kowtowing to a very elite ideology and an ideology that’s not reflective of the vast vast majority of the country.”

The Daily Wire added:

On Friday, DeSantis called a special session of the Florida legislature for November 15 to pass laws against businesses requiring their employees to get vaccinated. DeSantis’ push is a direct response to President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating that federal contractors be vaccinated and large companies mandate their employees either be vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19.

“The Biden administration has undertaken, or threatened to undertake, extraordinary efforts to coerce injections of the COVID-19 vaccine into Americans who otherwise would be unwilling to receive the vaccine for reasons of health, pregnancy, religious belief (including sincerely held moral or ethical beliefs) and prior infection,” DeSantis’ announcement said, according to CBS Miami.

“Forced vaccinations of Americans will sow further distrust in government and in corporate America,” DeSantis said.

The previous day, the DeSantis administration sued the federal government over President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

“The federal government is exceeding [its] power and it is important for us to take a stand because in Florida we believe these are choices based on individual circumstances,” he said in a statement.

CBS News reported:

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The 28-page lawsuit, filed in federal court in Tampa, argues that the administration has no legal grounds to mandate such a sweeping requirement and that Biden’s rule violates procurement law.

The state is seeking an immediate injunction to the rule, which is slated to take effect Dec. 8.

DeSantis, a major ally of former President Trump, has repeatedly said his main political focus is winning reelection next year in Florida. He has not indicated that he’s interested in a 2024 presidential bid.