The strike against Disney that brought Gov. Ron DeSantis a windfall of campaign cash and weeks of glowing coverage from conservative media has also generated something the Florida Republican rarely experiences these days: criticism from the political right.

A handful of high-profile Republicans have expressed their unease with the punitive actions DeSantis took against the Walt Disney Company after its CEO spoke out against a new Florida measure restricting certain classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity. A fellow Republican governor, an ally of former President Donald Trump and the single largest donor to DeSantis' reelection campaign are among those now questioning DeSantis for retaliating against a private enterprise.
Hutchinson hits 'punitive approach' by DeSantis against Disney

"I don't believe that government should be punitive against private businesses because we disagree with them," Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a potential rival for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "That's not the right approach either. And so, to me, that's the old Republican principle of having a restrained government."

The reaction follows a display of raw political power by DeSantis last month. The governor ordered state lawmakers to take up legislation that would eliminate the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special governing body that has overseen Disney's theme parks and Orlando-area properties for half a century. The new measure — passed in 48 hours by the GOP-controlled legislature and quickly signed into law — would mean significant changes to Disney's tax obligations, and it has clouded the future of the state's largest private employer and the economic engine of Central Florida.