Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger slams reported Trump comments on war dead: ‘No respect for the office he holds’

Retired airline pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger on Friday condemned President Trump’s reported comments on fallen U.S. service members, saying the commander in chief has “completely failed to uphold his oath.”

Sullenberger, an Air Force veteran who landed the famous “Miracle on the Hudson,” wrote a thread following the bombshell report this week from The Atlantic accusing the president of disparaging dead military veterans as “losers” and “suckers.”

“For the first time in American history, a president has repeatedly shown utter and vulgar contempt and disrespect for those who have served and died serving our country,” the former pilot wrote. “While I am not surprised, I am disgusted by the current occupant of the Oval Office.”

Sullenberger argued that Trump has shown himself to be “completely unfit for and to have no respect for the office he holds.”

6/9 While I am not surprised, I am disgusted by the current occupant of the Oval Office. He has repeatedly and consistently shown himself to be completely unfit for and to have no respect for the office he holds.

— Sully Sullenberger (@Captsully) September 4, 2020

Sullenberger also spoke out against Trump leading up to the 2018 midterm elections and endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in February.

The former pilot wrote in 2018 that he had been a registered Republican for the majority of his adult life but has “always voted as an American.”

The bestselling author said in his Twitter thread this week that, in his view, Trump has failed to uphold his oath is because “he cannot comprehend the concept of service above self.”

“He cannot understand selflessness because he is selfish. He cannot conceive of courage because he is a coward. He cannot feel duty because he is disloyal,” the pilot wrote.

Sullenberger concluded by calling for Trump to be voted out in November.

9/9 We owe it not only to those who have served and sacrificed for our nation, but to ourselves and to succeeding generations to vote him out. https://t.co/REXXzg90Pw @JeffreyGoldberg @TheAtlantic

— Sully Sullenberger (@Captsully) September 4, 2020

Sullenberger rose to international fame in January 2009 when he led 154 people to safety by making an emergency landing on the Hudson River after a malfunction on US Airways Flight 1549.

Trump has faced intense backlash following an anonymously sourced report in The Atlantic that detailed his trip to France in 2018.

The president was reportedly reluctant to travel to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, calling the U.S. service members who were buried there during World War I “losers,” The Atlantic reported.

In another conversation, Trump reportedly said that the 1,800 marines who lost their lives in the battle of Belleau Wood were “suckers” for getting killed. The president reportedly asked aides about historic details about WWI, including “Who were the good guys in this war?”

Trump has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the story “fake” and saying he did not need to apologize since the remarks were not true.

“It was a totally fake story, and that was confirmed by many people that were actually there,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “It was a terrible thing that somebody could say the kind of things — especially to me because I have done more for the military than almost anybody else.”