Martina Navratilova gives scathing verdict on Elon Musk's controversial salute at President Donald Trump's inauguration

Martina Navratilova delivered a stinging reaction to a controversial salute performed by Elon Musk during his speech at President Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, January 20. Musk played a key role in Trump's return to the White House and has been made the chairperson of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a presidential advisory commission.

In the aftermath of Trump's inauguration ceremony, an X account posted two videos as part of the same post. In the first video, Musk can be seen performing the salute during his speech, while in the second, the origin of the notorious 'Nazi salute' is explained.

The post was captioned:

"Elon Musk was born a Nazi, has always been a Nazi, and will forever be a Nazi. Now he has infinite money and power. It’s just about how many people die now"

Martina Navratilova, a former World No. 1 women's tennis player and 18-time singles Grand Slam champion, reacted to the post, writing:

"If there ever was a nazi salute, this is it"

Martina Navratilova is one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump and Elon Musk from the world of tennis. Previously, she accused the world's richest man of 'rigging the system' through his takeover of Twitter, which he later rebranded as X.

One of Navratilova's most scathing swipes aimed at Musk came late last year, after getting to know about the billionaire's role in slashing funding for research into child cancer. The Czech-American herself has recovered from cancer on two separate occasions and is understandably sensitive about the subject.

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Martina Navratilova took a "cruelty" swipe at Elon Musk amid child cancer research funding controversy in late 2024

Martina Navratilova (Source: Getty)

In December 2024, Elon Musk and Donald Trump jointly opposed passing a bill that aimed at continuing federal operations and funding essential programs amid the transition of power. Instead, the Republican duo facilitated the introduction of a proposal that bizarrely canceled out $190 million, previously allocated for child cancer research as part of the 'Give Kids a Chance' program.

Aghast upon learning about the development, Martina Navratilova wrote on X:

"A psychopath by proxy, that’s who. The cruelty is the point."

More recently, the former No. 1 lambasted the Trump-Musk duo over what she perceives to be their 'hypocrisy' concerning family values. Both Trump and Musk have stirred controversy for their affairs with multiple women and subsequently having children with them.