Mayor Bill de Blasio defended Thursday the controversial comments made by some of the speakers at the inauguration ceremony, including a reverend who described New York City as a “plantation.”

“I am very comfortable with everyone’s remarks yesterday and I think the ceremony represented the positive aspiration of New Yorkers for a more just city,” the mayor told reporters Thursday after swearing-in Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton, at 1 Police Plaza.

Mr. de Blasio disagreed with the premiss of viewing the event as an anti-Bloomberg rally.

“I made clear my real respect for Mayor Bloomberg. It’s not a secret that I’ve had some disagreements with him on policy, but I honored, with a whole heart, what he did for this city. And there’s also some areas where I very much agree with him and look forward to continuing his policies. I delineated that a bit yesterday and I’ve done so more before-hand. I appreciated President Clinton’s warm comments about Mayor Bloomberg as well.”

“But I think everyone who spoke at the inauguration spoke from the heart, talked about their own understanding of our city and what we need to do to move our city forward. I’m very comfortable with all that was done,” he stressed.

(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)