On Wednesday’s Glenn Beck Program, Glenn praised former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg for his decision to protest the Federal Aviation Administration’s moratorium on American airliners flying to and from Israel by getting on a Tel Aviv-bound El Al flight on Tuesday night. Glenn was not keen, however, on Bloomberg’s refusal to answer the most basic questions about the ban during an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in Jerusalem.
Blitzer asked the seemingly obvious question of whether the FAA’s ban on U.S. flights to Israel could have been implemented for political reasons. Bloomberg, however, was not happy with the query – calling the question “insulting.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Why would you think that? It’s an outrage to accuse one of our agencies –– by asking the question, you’re implying our government does things for political reasons, and maybe everyone once in a while they do it, but it’s your job to prove it,” Bloomberg said angrily. “Just the allegation against our government, I personally take as an offense.”
He added that the “tone of the question, of trying to create dissension, it’s insulting to America.”
Watch the confrontation below:
On radio this morning, Glenn said that he believes Blitzer to be a “really good” and “really sharp” reporter, which makes Bloomberg’s reaction all the more bizarre.
“I don't even know what that is,” Glenn said. “Is that Michael Bloomberg trying to be presidential and not bad-mouthing America overseas. Is that what that is?”
Stu, meanwhile, speculated Bloomberg may have received some pushback on his trip from the powers at be, which may explain why he refused to call out the FAA and Obama Administration for playing politics with the ban.
“It had to be he did this and he got pressure or something,” Stu concluded. “I don't understand how it could be they shut down these flights in ten seconds… The opposite would be true if it was red tape and bureaucracies. It would take them three weeks to shut it down.”