Lillian Bonsignore has all the credentials to be Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). She served in the Fire Department for 31 years, finishing her tenure as head of emergency medical operations. She was not only the first woman to hold the title, but also history as an out lesbian. She became the first woman in the Fire Department’s history to hold a four-star rank. She was widely praised for her leadership during the COVID pandemic. She was endorsed by all three unions representing firefighters, Fire Department officers and medics and will make history as the first lesbian to lead the FDNY.

Needless to say, MAGA hates her.

Within days of Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani making his announcement, the right wing has hurled all its usual criticisms at Bonsignore, including homophobic ones.

Many of the attacks focus on the fact that Bonsignore was never a fire fighter. At the top of the list of inflammatory slams stands Elon Musk. In a post on X on Friday, Musk dramatically claimed “People will die because of this.”

Sen. Ted Cruz chimed in “A great idea…unless there’s a fire.” Megyn Kelly added, “Here we go again.”

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In fact, neither of the last two commissioners appointed by outgoing Mayor Eric Adams had operational experience.

Podcaster John Macari, a retired lieutenant in the New York City Policy Department (NYPD), was quick to point out that Bonsignore is well qualified. “Eric Adams current NYPD Police Commissioner [Jessica Tisch] also has 0 Law Enforcement experience,” Macari posted on X. “Lillian Bonsignore has 30 years of FDNY EMS experience. The overwhelming majority of calls handled by firefighters are EMS runs.”

Homophobia was also part of the criticism of Bonsignore as well. “The new FDNY Chief doesn’t know anything about firefighting but is an expert in pronouns and pointing out perceived homophobia,” former MN State Senator Sean Nienow posted. “What could possibly go wrong there?”

In a surprise move, Mayor Adams swore in his choice to as FDNY Fire Commissioner just hours after Mamdani made his announcement. He chose Mark Guerra, who had been interim commissioner for a week, to fill the role for the rest of Adams’ term–which ends Dec. 31.

Adams, who was indicted on corruption charges in 2024, has been highly critical of Mamdani. But Adams may also be continuing to burnish his credentials with President Trump, whose Department of Justice dropped the charges against him. Adams then started pledging cooperation with ICE’s crackdown on immigrants, a move many interpreted as a quid pro quo for the dropped charges. (Adams denied the charges and that he struck any deal with the administration.)

Mamdani campaigned on his support for the LGBTQ community, winning more than 80% of the LGBTQ vote according to an NBC News exit poll. In his victory speech election night, Mamdani pledged to defend the trans community against attacks from the Trump administration and create an office of LGBTQIA+ affairs.

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