Tennis icon Martina Navratilova criticized President Donald Trump and warned Americans of the rise of his totalitarian regime in a new political ad in which she lamented moving to the U.S. from communist Czechoslovakia in 1975 to be in what she once considered the "freest country in the world."
The athlete, a native of Czechoslovakia who defected to the United States at just 18, delivered her message in a video published Wednesday by the conservative-leaning nonprofit Home of the Brave. The group uses its video campaigns to spotlight what it describes as the damage Trump is inflicting during his second term.
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 yet, be 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. I am p*ssed off as hell about people capitulating to Trump, whether it’s the legal firms, or schools, politicians or companies. We are too big to fail if we stand together, but divided we fall and that’s what Trump is counting on. Chaos, fear.”
“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."
“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 actual patriotic thing to do when you see something wrong. Don’t be afraid. You can find ways to make a difference.”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Her words struck a chord with many.
In an interview with The Athletic, Navratilova said she feels "like I’m sometimes screaming into the void" when warning about the danger Trump poses to the United States and its democratic institutions.
However, she said she still thinks it is "helpful to my well-being, as well as feeling that I can still maybe shine the light." She added that her words might "not necessarily change people’s minds, but just make them think and make them realize what is going on.”









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