Martina Navratilova: "I cannot even think of being friends with anyone who would vote for wannabe fascist Donald Trump"

Fomer tennis professional Martina Navratilova has issued a strong statement against Donald Trump and his supporters after the Republican candidate's campaign event at the Madison Square Garden for the 2024 US Presidential elections.

Trump is running for a second term in the office, having already served as the US President from 2017-2021. Fighting him is Democrat Kamala Harris, who fulfilled the role of Vice-President under the Joe Biden administration after Trump left office.

The 2024 Presidential elections are scheduled for November 5. Trump has gone all out in the final stretch of campaigning as he brought on Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, MMA fame Dana White and WWE superstar Hulk Hogan to speak for him at the Madison Square Garden rally.

"I'm asking you to be excited about the future of our country again," Trump said, addressing his supporters [1:40 onwards via FoxNews]. "I'm asking you to dream big again... Next Tuesday, you have to stand up and tell Kamala Harris that you’ve done a terrible job, that crooked Joe Biden has done a terrible job. You’ve destroyed our country, we’re not going to take it anymore."

The show received mixed reviews from political pundits and others, with 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova rejecting it straightaway. Navratilova took to X, hours after the rally and likened the rally to a 1939 Nazi rally at the Madison Square Garden.

"After the abominable Trump rally which was a carbon copy of the Nazi rally there in 1939 I think?r - I truly cannot even think of being friends with anyone who would vote for the wannabe fascist named Donald Trump. Don’t even bother trying to make excuses for him," Martina Navratilova wrote.

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Martina Navratilova: "Donald Trump is against all things trans"

Martina Navratilova (Getty)

Martina Navratilova grew up in Czechoslovakia, now Czechia, at the time when Soviet powers enjoyed great influence there. Navratilova adopted US citizenship in 1981 after being stripped off her nationality by the Czech regime. She, however, regained her right to hold a Czech passport in 2008.

Navratilova has made it clear to never vote for Donald Trump, suggesting he would bring totalitarionism to the US.

"I lived in a totalitarian authoritarian country growing up and I will not vote for that now or ever. Trump is not pro women - r*pist and ass*ulter - he is against all things trans. A big difference. I support trans people but not male bodies in women's sex based spaces. Simple," she has written in a pinned post on her X handle.

Navratilova came out as gay in the year 1981 and has been a big advocate for the homosexual community. However, she has always opposed the inclusion of non-female (at birth) athletes signing up for tournaments specifically designed for women.