The much-discussed feud between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Disney DIS was already in full swing when the Republican politician found himself in the spotlight again.
This time, it was for a couple of other reasons, both occurring within a week of each other.
DON'T MISS: Disney, DeSantis Battle Takes Another Ugly Turn
On May 24 DeSantis was set to finally take center stage and make the one announcement he had been preparing for years: that he was running for president of the U.S.
In a surprise move, he decided to forgo a televised rally, or a cable or network television appearance, for the announcement. Instead, he chose to appear in an audio broadcast with Elon Musk on Twitter, which the billionaire controls.
DeSantis then found himself on the receiving end of a lot of criticism when his appearance on the social media site was repeatedly interrupted and delayed by technical glitches.
The criticism centered on the idea that the announcement should have been the easiest event for the candidate during the entire campaign. He instead took a chance on Twitter, which messed up the plan.
DeSantis Is Singled Out by the NAACP
This followed a May 20 travel advisory for Florida issued by the NAACP.
"Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals," the travel notice stated. "Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color."
In a news release the NAACP briefly explained the decision to take the action.
"The travel advisory comes in direct response to Gov. Ron DeSantis's aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools," it said.
These events occurred well after Disney had long been a vocal critic of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act.
The legislation, called the Don’t Say Gay law by detractors, was supported by DeSantis. It prohibited classroom instruction and discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity in some elementary school grades.
The conflict escalated into a series of legal battles and political arguments over Disney’s self-governing privileges and tax jurisdiction in Florida.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Weighs in With Stark Criticism
It was in this context that ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, the prominent host of "First Take," made some sharp comments about DeSantis. Disney owns ESPN.
In addition to referring to the NAACP travel advisory, Smith addressed DeSantis's aggressive approach to dealing with immigrants and asylum seekers coming across the U.S. border, as well as Florida's strict abortion laws.
"It’s bad enough you’ve alienated the Latino community. It’s bad enough you’ve alienated tens of millions of women," Smith said on his podcast. "This is where it hits home for me, because I’m a black man, and we’re talking about the NAACP."
Some of Smith's comments were even more pointed.
"At this pace, he might go down as one of the stupidest people I’ve ever seen," Smith said.
"And we know he's not stupid," he continued, backtracking a bit. "We know how smart he is. Say what you want, he's a highly educated, highly intelligent dude. I'm not calling him stupid, I'm saying his actions will have you thinking he is.
"DeSantis comes off as a dude who has lost his damn mind," Smith said.
