Martina Navratilova says Trump’s America mirrors her ‘totalitarian’ past: 'I'm embarrassed’

MIAMI, FLORIDA: Tennis icon Martina Navratilova said in a recent video advertisement that if it were today, she would not have defected to the United States because the current political climate reminds her of Communist Czechoslovakia.

Navratilova appears in the video, produced by the anti-Trump online community Home of the Brave, where she compares modern America to the totalitarian regime she grew up under.

Martina Navratilova says America under Trump echoes her totalitarian past

Navratilova begins the video by bluntly contrasting the America she once embraced with the America she perceives today.

She said, "I defected from a totalitarian regime, and like hell am I going to be cowed again, and have to be careful about what I say. I grew up in a Communist country, Czechoslovakia. So, I know what it looks like and feels like to live in a totalitarian regime where you cannot speak your mind, or worse, put in prison for political opinions. I'm so proud to be an American, but I'm embarrassed for what Trump is doing to our country."

Navratilova added that if the United States had been in its current condition when she left Czechoslovakia in 1975, she would have made a different choice.

“This was the freest country in the world when I defected in 1975. If this was the situation for me now, I would definitely not choose to live here.”

Martina Navratilova warns Americans are too complacent

The tennis legend sharply criticized what she views as a widespread failure to resist what she believes is the Trump administration’s influence over various parts of American life.

She said, "I am p****d off as hell about people capitulating to Trump. Whether it's legal firms, schools, politicians or companies, we are too big to fail. If we stand together but are divided, we fall. And that's what Trump is counting on. Chaos, fear."

Navratilova urged Americans to reject passivity, saying, "My fear is that people are just too complacent, too scared, and thinking they don't matter. And we all matter. As a tennis player, you're used to fighting. You have to fight for every point, and it kind of gives you that backbone. I will not be quiet. Not speaking out equals resignation, and that's just unacceptable."

She continued, "When you leave a totalitarian regime and you come to a freedom-loving country, of course you have to speak up. Speaking out is the patriotic thing to do. When you see something wrong, don’t be afraid. You can find things to make a difference. Democracy is never finished, but my God, we need to fix it. Keep protesting, and pay attention."

Martina Navratilova sides with conservatives in trans sports debate

Despite her vocal opposition to Trump and the political right, Navratilova holds a position that aligns her with conservative views on transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

She has been a consistent and outspoken opponent of allowing biological males to compete in female categories.

In December, she criticized her own political party, expressing frustration that Democrats had not taken the lead on what she considers an essential issue for women.

She wrote on X, "And I am so mad that the Republicans captured this issue – shame on all the elected Democrats who keep silent on this!!! #whataboutthewomen."

Highlighting backlash from fellow liberals, the tennis icon spoke at the Independent Women’s Forum’s “Take Back Title IX” rally in June.

Describing the vitriolic name-calling she has received, she said, "You're a bigot, you're a transphobe, you're a Nazi, you're a fascist, you're a communist, everything and everything in between. And this is coming from the left. I am the left! My people are turning on me. They're turning on us, women, who speak up for women's sex-based rights."