Mike Pence Draws a Line Between Bud Light Boycott and Ron DeSantis

Former Vice President Mike Pence upped his criticisms of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' battles with entertainment giant Disney Monday, calling DeSantis' use of state power to punish the company for its embrace of "woke" ideology an abandonment of conservative principles.

In an op-ed for the libertarian magazine Reason on Monday, Pence lauded the success of the free market in reigning in private companies he claims have been "co-opted by the radical left." After companies like Target and Bud Light drew controversy for "embracing progressive gender politics," he argued, sales plummeted nationwide, proving that the public—not the government—was most critical to victory in the culture wars.

"Without government lifting a finger, woke companies are being called to account for their ideological excesses," he wrote for the magazine.

Figures like DeSantis, however, have abandoned that principle, he argued, abandoning the conservative ideal of limited government in favor of using state power as a cudgel.

The most prominent example, he wrote, was illustrated in DeSantis' battle with Disney after it publicly condemned his controversial, so-called "Don't Say Gay" Law, which would block the discussion of gender ideology and LGBTQ+ topics in public institutions around the state. After the critiques, DeSantis moved to take control over the company's Reedy Creek Improvement District, prompting a lawsuit and the cancellation of future plans by the company to build a $1 billion campus in Orlando.

Such a move by the governor, wrote Pence, was a step too far, and a contradiction of the principles conservatives should believe in.

DeSantis "wasn't taking a page out of the conservative playbook" with his strategy, he wrote; he was "following in the footsteps of the radical left," channeling liberal politicians like President Barack Obama with his alleged weaponization of the IRS against conservative groups to California Governor Gavin Newsom's decision to withdraw from a state contract with Walgreens over its refusal to carry abortion medication.

"None of this was necessary," wrote Pence. "The best way to change businesses' behavior is to hit them where it hurts—the pocketbook. The American people seemingly understand this truth, as evidenced by their grassroots boycotts and changes in purchasing habits."

Newsweek has reached out to DeSantis' campaign team via email for comment. However, some internal polling from the DeSantis campaign has suggested Pence could be misunderstanding the current state of the Republican base. According to internal numbers first shared with news site The Messenger, Republican voters in swing states nationwide had largely negative views of Disney, including a net favorable rating of -44 percent in Iowa.

Furthermore, a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and released on June 20 shows DeSantis beating President Joe Biden in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Georgia, with 47, 46 and 48 percent of the vote against the president's estimated 45, 40, and 45 percent, respectively, in each state. The poll was conducted between June 17 and 19 among a sample of 500 eligible voters in each state.

Pence, however, argued the Republican Party should not abandon its ideals in pursuit of victory—even if its target is an unpopular one.

"We do not need to abandon our principles in order to win," Pence wrote. "We simply need leaders with the courage to speak hard truths, and faith that the American people will rally to our cause. Now as always, the physicians of the American soul must resist the temptation to put what is popular over what is wise."