Martina Navratilova accuses Donald Trump of being 'scared' over President-elect's indoor inauguration plans

Martina Navratilova has targeted President-elect Donald Trump's decision to move his upcoming inauguration indoors. Navratilova mocked Trump's apparent obsession with crowd sizes, suggesting that the move was more about optics than weather.

The inauguration, set for January 20, 2025, will take place inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda due to severe cold weather forecasts. This marks the first indoor presidential inauguration in four decades, with the last one being Ronald Reagan's second term in 1985.

The decision to move indoors was driven by dangerously low temperatures expected in Washington, D.C., with wind chills making it feel even colder. The indoor setting will significantly limit the number of attendees, contrasting sharply with the large crowds typically seen at outdoor inaugurations.

An X (formerly Twitter) user posted a comment implying that Trump's decision to move his 2025 inauguration indoors might be due to concerns over crowd size rather than weather. Martina Navratilova, known for her sharp critiques of Trump, reshared the post and added her jab, writing:

"Trump is scared he couldn’t get a big crowd. Again."

Trump's first inauguration on January 20, 2017, was marred by controversy over the crowd size. Trump claimed that the media had misrepresented the number of attendees, stating that "one of the networks" had shown "an empty field," while he saw a crowd that "looked like a million-and-a-half people."

However, analyses of aerial photographs and public transportation data suggested that the crowd size was smaller than previous inaugurations. For example, the Washington Metro reported about 570,000 trips on the day of the 2017 inauguration, compared to 1.1 million trips during President Obama's 2009 inauguration.

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Martina Navratilova criticizes decision to raise U.S. Capitol flags for Donald Trump's inauguration amid national mourning period for Jimmy Carter

In Picture: Martina Navratilova during the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards press conference (Image source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova voiced her disapproval of House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to raise the U.S. Capitol flags to full staff for Donald Trump's inauguration, despite the ongoing national mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.

Typically, flags are flown at half-staff for 30 days after a former president’s death as a sign of respect. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion shared her thoughts on X, pointing out the political implications of the decision, writing:

"But of course he does."

While the outgoing President Biden had set the mourning period for Jimmy Carter, Donald Trump, once inaugurated, would have the authority to alter the flag protocol, since such decisions are made by presidential proclamation, not law.