Elon Musk Claims Zohran Mamdani’s Latest Appointment Means ‘People Will Die’

Credit: (Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA, Sipa via AP Images) and (Evan Vucci/AP photo)

After New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s Tuesday announcement that he will appoint an FDNY commissioner who never served as a firefighter, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claimed on Friday via X that “people will die because of this.”

On Tuesday, Mamdani announced that Lillian Bonsignore, New York City’s former emergency medical services chief and a longtime EMT, will lead the New York City Fire Department when he takes office in 2027. Bonsignore is set to make history as the FDNY’s first openly gay commissioner.

Musk’s comments were in response to a post from the X account @TheChiefNerd, which features a quote from a news clip announcing the new commissioner’s appointment, reading, “Although she never served as a firefighter, she’s confident that won’t matter.”

“People will die because of this,” wrote Musk on Friday. “Proven experience matters when lives are at stake.”

Notably, Bonsignore, New York City’s first female EMS chief, led her department through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“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,” said Mamdani in a statement to City & State just before his announcement.

In November, just before the mayoral election, Musk encouraged voters via X to “bear in mind that a vote for [Republican candidate] Curtis [Sliwa] is really a vote for Mumdumi or whatever his name is,” instead encouraging New Yorkers to “VOTE CUOMO,” referring to former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary in June.

One response to Musk’s November post read, “This is the third sexual assaulter you have endorsed,” highlighting the multitude of sexual misconduct allegations against Cuomo. Musk clapped back, writing, “Do you have a better suggestion?”

As for President Donald Trump, despite repeatedly slandering Mamdani in the past, calling him a “Communist Lunatic,” “my little communist mayor,” and suggesting he may not be in the country legally, the pair seemed to have a relatively even-tempered meeting in the Oval Office in November.

“I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” said Trump to reporters after their face-to-face. “I think he is gonna surprise some conservative people, actually.”