FDNY Chief Puts Mamdani on Blast Live on CBS Mornings [WATCH]

FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said this week that he has not been contacted by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani or anyone from his incoming administration since announcing his resignation following Mamdani’s election victory, as reported by The New York Post.

Tucker discussed the situation during an interview that aired on Wednesday on “CBS Mornings.”

Tucker, who has served in the role for less than 18 months, announced his resignation on November 5, the day after Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the November 4 election.

He said neither he nor the department has received outreach from Mamdani’s transition team in the weeks since.

“I haven’t heard from anyone in his incoming administration, nor has the department, and so I only hope that that is not an indicator of their feelings about the FDNY, I’d like to think they think everything is going so well here that they don’t need to transition so fast,” Tucker said in the interview.

Speaking publicly for the first time about the decision, Tucker described the resignation as emotional and said his ideological differences with the mayor-elect contributed to his choice to step down.

Tucker, who is Jewish, said Mamdani’s comments on Israel played a role.

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“It’s a complicated, emotional decision to leave. But ideologically, there’s no doubt that the mayor and I disagree on some very fundamental things to me,” Tucker said.

He added, “I don’t want to tell you that it’s the only factor, but I believe that the things that I have heard the mayor say would make it difficult for me to continue on in such a senior executive role in the administration.”

This is exactly the kind of segment those of us rooting for a successful Bari Weiss-CBS partnership should expect — Tony Dokoupil interviewed outgoing FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker for Wednesday’s @CBSMornings, who revealed he’s resigning in direct response to Zohran Mamdani pic.twitter.com/0CV31nMqRu

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 26, 2025

His resignation is effective December 19.

Tucker also referenced Mamdani’s response to an antisemitic incident that occurred last week outside Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side.

A group of protestors gathered outside the synagogue, and one individual shouted, “We need to make them scared!”

The event was taking place on a night when the synagogue was hosting a program encouraging Jewish immigration to Israel.

A spokesperson for Mamdani’s transition team released a statement saying, in part, that the mayor-elect “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation and that these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”

Tucker said the response did not sufficiently address the incident.

“I don’t know that the public has heard appropriately from him,” Tucker said.

“I think he could have come out very quickly and condemned the behavior and some of the rhetoric.”

Tucker’s departure differs from Mamdani’s decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is also Jewish.

Tisch accepted an offer last week to continue serving in her position in the new administration.

“I respect her for the decision to stay, and I know she respects me for my decision to leave,” Tucker said.

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