Elon Musk criticises Mamdani’s decision to appoint gay Bonsignore as FDNY chief: ‘People will die…’

Elon Musk has publicly criticized the decision by New York City’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to pick Lillian Bonsignore as the new chief of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).

Musk warned that this choice could lead to dangerous results because the former head of emergency medical services (EMS) has never actually worked as a frontline firefighter.

“People will die because of this,” the Tesla and SpaceX founder said on X on Friday night, adding, “Proven experience matters when lives are at stake.”

Bonsignore spent 31 years working within the FDNY as an emergency medical technician (EMT) before she retired in 2022. By taking this job, she will become only the second woman to lead the city's fire department in its entire history. She is also seen as a pioneer for the LGBTQ community, as she will be the first person who is openly gay to serve as the FDNY commissioner.

Bonsignore is scheduled to lead the biggest fire department in the United States once Mamdani officially takes office on January 1. Her selection was announced on Tuesday.

At the same time, the current mayor, Eric Adams, made a different announcement about choosing his own temporary fire commissioner to handle the very last days of his time at City Hall.

What Mamdani said?

Zohran Mamdani shot back at Musk, saying: “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 FDNY?” addedthe mayor-elect.

Social Media Reactions

Elon Musk’s comments about the appointment spread very quickly online. His X post was viewed more than 25 million times in the first 24 hours and gained over 184,000 likes.

Many other people online also expressed doubts about whether someone without firefighting experience should be in charge of the department.

“Here we go again,” quipped lawyer and longtime TV media personality Megyn Kelly.

“Zohran Mamdani appointed Lillian Bonsignore as new FDNY Commissioner. Only problem is…she’s never been a firefighter. Word of advice, you can’t put out fires with rainbow flags,” said conservative Infowars talk-show host Breanna Morello on X.

“This is a freaking train wreck,” barked Eric Daugherty, chief content officer for RightLine News. “Glad I don’t live in NYC.”

However, Bonsignore also received a lot of support from people who stood up for her on social media platforms.

“The last 2 FDNY Fire Commissioners appointed by [NYC Mayor] Eric Adams had 0 actual FDNY operational experience,” said retired NYPD Lt. John Macari, who co-hosts the “New York’s Finest: Retired & Unfiltered Podcast,”

Laura Kavanagh, who was the very first woman to serve as FDNY commissioner, wrote a post on LinkedIn praising the hiring of Bonsignore.

Kavanagh served as the fire commissioner from February 2022 to August 2024 under Mayor Adams, and she also did not have a background as a firefighter.

“When I was sworn in, I said it only meant something to be first if I wasn’t the last. I’m so happy I didn’t have to wait long for that to be the case,” said Kavanagh who served as fire commissioner from Feb. 2022 to Aug, 2024 under Adams and also didn’t have firefighting experience.

“Mayor-elect Mamdani has made a terrific choice, and the City and FDNY are lucky to have her.”