Martina Navratilova raises concerns about 'war' after President Donald Trump shares territorial expansion vision during inaugural address

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova criticized 47th US President Donald Trump's inaugural address, where he promised to expand the country's territory. Navratilova equates this promise to a hostile takeover, drawing parallels to aggressive business practices.

In his inaugural address on January 20, 2025, Trump pledged to pursue a policy that "expands our territory" and to send U.S. astronauts to Mars.

"The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars," he said (at 00:29).

Reacting to Trump's statement, Navratilova drew a parallel between Trump's vague promise of "expanding our territory" and the concept of territorial expansion through conflict or war. On January 20, 2025, she wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"If expanding our territory is not war, what is it? A hostile takeover, like in business?"

The heightened emphasis on Mars coincides with the United States grappling with intricate challenges in its space policy. In his first term, Trump enacted seven Space Policy Directives, which set the goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon by 2024 as a precursor to reaching Mars.

However, setbacks have shifted the Moon mission's timeline to 2027, casting doubt on the viability of a Mars mission within the next ten years.

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Martina Navratilova reflects on US politics as Donald Trump becomes crypto billionaire

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

Martina Navratilova compared the U.S. political system to a "banana republic" in response to news of President Donald Trump's ascent to crypto billionaire status.

Three days before his inauguration, Trump introduced his cryptocurrency, $TRUMP, on the Solana blockchain, which is currently valued at approximately $58 billion, positioning him among the wealthiest individuals globally.

CNN journalist Edward-Isaac Dovere highlighted Trump’s remarkable financial surge, particularly through cryptocurrency, in a post on X on January 20, 2025. Dovere noted that Trump's financial growth surpassed any previous U.S. president's earnings, according to a report from Axios.

The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion shared Dovere’s tweet, likely drawing a connection between Trump's wealth accumulation and the corruption often linked to banana republics, commenting:

"Welcome to our brand new Banana Republic."

After the success of $TRUMP, First Lady-elect Melania Trump launched her cryptocurrency, $MELANIA, which also reached a multi-billion dollar market cap.