Disney hires ex-Hillary Clinton staffer and chief of Biden's COVID-19 vaccine education strategy as new spox



The Walt Disney Corporation has just hired a former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign flack and the leader of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccination education campaign to serve as its chief spokeswoman.

In a news release Tuesday, Disney announced that Kristina Schake will take over as the company's executive vice president for global communications, reporting to chief corporate affairs officer Geoff Morrell.

“I could not be more pleased to welcome Kristina to Disney and to have her leading communications for the company,” Morrell said in a statement.

“Her experience in the public and private sectors, in political and corporate campaigns, make her ideally suited for this important role and to help me integrate communications with government relations, public policy, and corporate social responsibility into a new Corporate Affairs team," he added.

Disney bragged that Schake has more than three decades of experience working in government, media, business, entertainment, and technology. Most recently, she was appointed by Biden to lead the federal government's national COVID-19 vaccine education campaign. She has previously served as the Global Communications Director for Instagram and in 2016 she was the deputy communications director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Before that, she served in the Obama administration as special assistant to the president and communications director to the first lady.

“As Disney approaches its 100th anniversary, I’m excited to lead the company’s global communications work at this pivotal moment of growth and transformation,” said Schake in a statement. “The magical stories and experiences Disney creates enrich the lives of countless people around the world and it’s an honor for me to be a part of that, helping Bob Chapek, Geoff Morrell, and the talented teams throughout the company tell the story of Disney as it begins its second century.”

Disney set itself up as a political punching bag for Republican politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this year when the company took an activist position opposing Florida's Parental Rights in Education law. The law prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3, but Democrats and progressive activists inaccurately labeled it the "Don't Say Gay" bill, alleging that GOP politicians wanted to hatefully attack trans kids.

Caving to pressure from LGBTQ+ employees and outside groups, Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke out against the law and the company issued a statement declaring, "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts," leading to multiple public confrontations with DeSantis.

Disney has increasingly signaled it will take more action to appease the left and alienate conservatives. In March, leaked videos from a corporate meeting showed Disney executives and producers boasting about implementing "gay agenda" content directed at children and families.

The hiring of a veteran Democratic communications pro like Schake continues the company's political drift leftward.