Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, simple embarresed Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, following his declaration of “people will die” concerning the latest appointment to his administration. Mamdani, who is all set to be inaugurated as New York City’s next mayor on Jan. 1, announced Tuesday that Lillian Bonsignore, the former emergency medical services chief, will lead the New York City Fire Department as commissioner, which also highlights her being the second woman to lead the FDNY.
Talking about Bonsignore, she is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and has also served for 31 years in the fire department, completing her tenure as head of EMS. She came to the limelight for leading the department through the COVID-19 pandemic, which swept New York City, making the site among the most affected by the disease in the U.S.
Zohran Mamdani just exposed Elon Musk as being one the most ignorant and unself-aware white supremacists on the planet. Time and again, Musk puts his foot in his mouth and makes an ass of himself. 😂🤣👇 pic.twitter.com/ovfKuz65Ku
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) December 28, 2025
Mamdani said during the appointment, “Bonsignore’s calm, decisive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic- when EMS professionals were more vital than ever- is exactly the kind of leadership our city needs in moments of uncertainty.” From Elon Musk’s perspective, multiple decades of experience do not seem to be enough. The former head of the Department of Government Efficiency took it to the X platform to highlight his grievances over the appointment, despite his primary residence not in The Big Apple, but rather in Boca Chica, Texas.
“People will die because of this,” Musk wrote on Friday, responding to Bonsignore’s appointment. “Proven experience matters when lives are at stake.” Mamdani, on the other hand, didn’t take long to reply to the accusations and defended his choice by highlighting Bonsignore’s vast experience. “Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into the FDNY?” Mamdani wrote.
Zohran Mamdani Appoints Lillian Bonsignore as New FDNY Commissioner
Although she never served as a firefighter, she’s confident that won’t matter … Bonsignore is a trailblazer for the LGBTQ community who will serve as the FDNY’s first openly gay commissioner
Follow:@RawEntropy pic.twitter.com/ZtFPevnRyR
— Raw Entropy (@RawEntropy) December 28, 2025
The appointment of Bonsignore also riled up other members of the far-right, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on social media, “a great idea… unless there’s a fire,” and also podcaster Megyn Kelly, stated “here we go again,” and they reflected that her appointment was related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, which the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle.
Not to mention, Bonsignore is highly celebrated within her division and has risen through the ranks on a consistent note to become a lieutenant in 2002, a captain in 2005, and a deputy chief by 2009. She also responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and was deployed from Queens to the World Trade Center.
