Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger urges people to vote against Trump in Lincoln Project ad

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the retired pilot known for the “Miracle on the Hudson” in 2009, teamed up with the anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project for a new ad ahead of the presidential debate Tuesday night.

The $200,000 ad buy is co-sponsored by VoteVets and will run on national cable Tuesday, leading up to the debate between President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden that evening, according to a press release.

“Leadership is not just about sitting in a pilot’s seat. It’s about knowing what you’re doing, and taking responsibility for it,” Sully says in the ad. “Being prepared, ready and able to handle anything that might come your way. I’ve been flying over this country for fifty-three years. Fifty-three years of flights you’ve never heard about, and one that you’ve heard everything about.”

Sullenberger is known for safely landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in New York in 2009. All 155 people on board the flight survived.

The ad also underscores both Sullenberger and his father’s history in the armed forces, from his father’s time as a Naval officer in World War II to his own experience as an Air Force officer and a fighter pilot.

“From my service as an Air Force officer and a fighter pilot, I knew that serving a cause greater than one’s self is the highest calling. And it’s in that highest calling of leadership that Donald Trump has failed us so miserably,” Sullenberger added.

In the U.S., around 205,000 people have died from the COVID-19 outbreak this year, with many Trump critics — including The Lincoln Project — casting blame on the president.

Jon Soltz, Iraq War veteran and Chairman of VoteVets, said, “It’s important that they hear someone who’s saved lives speak to how many lives Donald Trump has cost — and will continue to cost — America.”

Sullenberger said Americans must vote on behalf of the quarter-million who will have died of COVID-19 by Election Day.

“Eleven years ago, I was called to my moment. Now, we are all called to this moment. … All we have to do is vote him out,” Sullenberger says in the ad’s conclusion.