Zohran Mamdani claps back after Elon Musk attacks out lesbian FDNY chief appointee

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani isn't letting Elon Musk slander his nominee for chief of the Fire Department of New York as she makes history.

Mamdani announced Tuesday at a press conference that he has appointed Lillian Bonsignore, a 56-year-old out lesbian and decorated first responder, to lead the FDNY once he is inaugurated on January 1. In response to the news, the billionaire and Tesla CEO took to social media over the weekend to attack Bonsignore, fallaciously claiming that "people will die because of this."

“Proven experience matters when lives are at stake,” Musk wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, which he owns.

Related: Who is Lillian Bonsignore — set to be first out gay Fire Department of New York commissioner?

Musk's implication that Bonsignore is inexperienced is completely false, as Mamdani was quick to point out. He wrote in post directly replying to Musk, “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?”

Bonsignore joined the FDNY in 1991 as an emergency medical technician, serving 31 years before her retirement in 2022. She was named chief of the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services division in 2019, becoming the first woman to head the division and first uniformed woman to be a four-star chief in the department. Her tenure included working as a first responder in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and leading the EMS division during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonsignore's appointment makes her the second woman and first out gay person to serve as FDNY chief. It also marks the first time women have led both the city's fire and police departments, as Jessica Tisch is expected to stay in her post as police commissioner when Mamdani takes office.

Related: DOGE is gone, leaving behind 300,000 fired federal workers, 600,000 USAID deaths, and more

“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,” Mamdani said in a statement to City & State New York before the announcement.

Meanwhile, Musk's experience includes heading the failed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which shut down within just ten months after failing to meet its goals. The department was responsible for firing about 300,000 federal workers, including 2,000 staff members of USAID in the complete dissolution of the U.S. humanitarian department. Data models by Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols estimate that as of June, over 640,000 people globally have died due to losing USAID support, at least two-thirds of them children.