Never Forget: Bloomberg Wanted a Mosque at 9/11 Ground Zero to 'Unite' New York
As NYC mayor, Michael Bloomberg 'spoke out' in support of mosque at site of 9/11 attacks
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Since Michael Bloomberg has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of his own money on a slick advertising campaign for his failed presidential candidacy, to convince America that he's the man who will "bring us together," it may be easy for some to forget his controversial past.
Yet, after taking over as New York City mayor from Rudy Guiliani in 2002, one of Bloomberg's suggestions to "bring us together" was to demand that a mosque be built at Ground Zero - the site where Islamists destroyed the World Trade Center and killed almost 3000 people.
During his 2020 campaign, "Mike" was attempting to rebrand his controversial actions as NYC mayor as an example of how he wants to "unite" people.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 radicalized Muslim men used hijacked commercial planes and used them as weapons against targets in the United States at the behest of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
New York City took the brunt of the attack with a devastating loss of life and over 6,000 injured in the attack on the WTC buildings in lower Manhattan.
Mayor Giuliani led the city through its darkest ever period, giving way to Bloomberg in January 2002.
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The plans on how or even if to rebuild at the twin towers site took over a decade to finally be executed.
Among those plans was a mosque and Islamic center just two blocks from Ground Zero, according to Western Journal.
Many were outraged that an Islamic holy site would be built so close to where the attacks by jihadists took place.
During a protest over the project, a ground zero construction worker asked, “If they put a mosque up right here in the shadow of the World Trade Center before we finished building it back up, what’s next?”
Bloomberg was vocal in his support of the project despite the strong opposition from many groups, including 9/11 families.
The mayor ignored those who justifiably opposed the project, saying in 2010, “I think it’s fair to say if somebody was going to try, on that piece of property, to build a church or a synagogue, nobody would be yelling and screaming,” according to the New York Post.
It’s worth noting that St. Nicholas, the Greek Orthodox church on the site of ground zero that was obliterated in the attacks, was still tied up in red tape after the mosque and Islamic center was approved, according to a report at the time by Newsweek.
It remains unfinished.
The mosque and Islamic center project was shelved in 2011, and a condo was built in its place.
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Bloomberg thinks the ground zero mosque is a winning issue for him.
Earlier in the year, he tweeted a reminder that he championed the cause.
“After 9/11, New Yorkers of all faiths came together to rebuild the city,” he said.
"So when groups opposed a mosque near Ground Zero, I spoke up.
"Muslims are as much a part of NYC & America as people of any faith.
"Our doors are open to everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard.”
After 9/11, New Yorkers of all faiths came together to rebuild the city. So when groups opposed a mosque near Ground Zero, I spoke up.
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 26, 2020
Muslims are as much a part of NYC & America as people of any faith. Our doors are open to everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard. pic.twitter.com/xeYeWxNplk
Furthermore, a political ad put out by Bloomberg falsely boasted that he — not Giuliani — led a “complex diverse city through 9/11.”
Thankfully, there was another New Yorker who stood firm against the project.
In an effort to quash the planned mosque and Islamic center, Donald Trump offered to buy the site back when he was “real estate mogul” instead of “president.”
He reiterated the offer on Twitter back in 2012:
The Ground Zero Mosque should not go up where planned. It is wrong. My offer still stands to buy the property. Good deal for everyone.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2012
Trump was then and is now clearly head and shoulders above the former mayor.
Standing on his principles, Trump towers over the man he calls “Mini Mike.”
Bloomberg's 2020 campaign had failed before it even got started.
