"Still a legend" - Martina Navratilova fires back at critics after falling for fake quote about Donald Trump by White House press secretary

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova recently found herself at the center of a heated exchange online after she commented on a widely circulated fake quote attributed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The viral quote falsely claimed that Leavitt sought comfort in President Donald Trump's values after Team USA’s loss to Canada in the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off.

The controversy stemmed from a viral post that misrepresented Leavitt’s reaction to Team USA’s overtime defeat to Canada in the hockey tournament on February 21. The real remarks from Leavitt ahead of the championship game were already divisive, as she confidently predicted an American victory and even suggested that Canada would soon be integrated into the United States as the "51st state."

After the U.S. team’s 3-2 loss, a fabricated quote emerged, falsely portraying Leavitt as devastated, "crying" and "praying" over the defeat while referencing President Donald Trump.

"Last night I was a cry'n and a pray'n to the Lord on our loss to Canada and that's when I felt something rise inside me - it was our president," the quote on X read.

Navratilova, an outspoken critic of Trump, responded to the fake statement by calling his administration a "cult" in a now-deleted post on X.

"Can anyone say CULT????" Martina Navratilova wrote in her repost of the fake quote on X.

Her comment drew sharp reactions from social media users, some of whom pointed out that the quote was satire. One user criticized the former World No. 1, noting that while they were not fans of Leavitt, the fake post contained misogynistic language and should not have been amplified, writing:

"She [Karoline Leavitt] obviously never said this, and the clue that this is a parody is in the description of her as a "DEI C*m Dump Hire". We don't have to like a woman to be opposed to her being targeted with this kind of ugly misogyny."

Another user took a personal jab at Navratilova, labeling her a "lonely hateful former tennis legend." The tennis great, who came out as lesbian in 1981 and is married to Julia Lemigova, sarcastically dismissed the claim of being lonely and asserting that she remains a legend.

"Lonely- I missed that part… lol!!!" Navratilova replied.

The 68-year-old further clarified that her reaction stemmed from genuine concern for the country and admitted she had mistakenly assumed the quote to be real, leading her to delete the original post.

"Still a legend, not hateful- just worried about the country I love. Try again with your insults- and the sad thing is- I didn’t know it wasn’t real but thought it was… so bye now and I will delete the original…." she added.

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"I don’t hate Donald Trump, I hate his policies" - Martina Navratilova

In Picture: Martina Navratilova (Source: Getty)

Martina Navratilova clarified that while she doesn’t personally hate President Donald Trump, she opposes his policies. A frequent critic of Trump on social media, she recently clashed with an X user who called him the "Greatest President in the past 100 years."

"You mean greatest mistake, surely," Martina Navratilova wrote.

The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion then delivered a sharp critique of Trump, stating:

"History will prove trump to be by far the worst president ever- he is a dictator through and through- a dictator is not the same as small government," she wrote.

She later clarified that her stance was not driven by personal hatred, explaining:

"I don’t hate trump- I hate his policies. Now go away Magat."

In other news, Martina Navratilova was left stunned as the White House officially declared Donald Trump 'The King' in a press release.