Earlier this week, two stories indicated a fight was brewing between Donald Trump’s White House and the fine folks at Disney. The Magic Kingdom’s “Hall of Presidents” exhibit is set to get a new robotic participant since the Republican nominee won the November election, but according to the Vice website Motherboard, the words Trump’s counterpart would utter had become a point of contention. Following a statement from Disney and an editorial review by the outlet, however, it seems these reports weren’t accurate.
According to Variety, Motherboard replaced links to the two retracted stories with a statement regarding its decision. “After a thorough investigation into the sourcing of two stories, “Here’s the Secret Backstage Trump Drama at Walt Disney World’s Hall of Presidents” and “Behind the Scenes of Disney’s Donald Trump ‘Hall of Presidents’ Installation,” and the identification of several factual errors,” it read, “we have decided to retract both pieces.”
Motherboard added they were “conducting a full editorial review” of the matter to determine exactly what happened, and why, while issuing a formal apology. The retractions arrived on the heels of Disney’s own statement, which confirmed Trump “will have a speaking role” in the attraction “like every president since 1993.” Disney’s Thomas Smith confirmed they were “working closely with the current White House,” adding that Trump’s recording session had already been scheduled for a future date.