“When I went to school, I, we studied the constitution. It says you have a right to say what you want to say, which means pray to whomever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. And it’s just not the government’s business to tell you what to say. You went on and on about Glen Beck. (The opening of the show focused on Beck.) He has a right to say anything he wants. That’s what great about America. And people say, well, in Saudi Arabia you can’t build a church. Yes. That’s the difference (between) being in Saudi Arabia and America. And I, it’s just plain and simple that. Whether you like the mosque or don’t like the mosque, you don’t have to go. There’s already another mosque down there within four block of the World Trade Center. There’s porno places, there’s fast-food places. It’s a vibrant community. It’s New York. (applause)”
Bloomberg also predicted that the controversy would go away after the elections, “This is plain and simple people trying to stir up things to get publicity and trying to polarize people so that they can get some votes. And I don’t think that most of these people who are yelling and screaming really care one way or another.”
-text via gothamist.com
