Tennis icon Martina Navratilova is worried that the United States – which became her home after defecting from communist Czechoslovakia 50 years ago – has become a “totalitarian” state under Donald Trump, and probably “wouldn’t let me in” as an asylum seeker today.
Navratilova made these remarks in an interview with the BBC.
“If I were now still in that same position [as in 1975] and I had to go live somewhere, it would not be America, because it’s not a democracy at the moment,” she is quoted as saying.
“I mean, people are getting chucked out by Homeland Security, they’re getting chucked out because they’re not on board completely with Donald Trump’s agenda… because they’re not kissing the ring.”
Navratilova is a dual US and Czech citizen, and still lives in the US with her wife, model Julia Lemigova.
The BBC notes that Navratilova is candid about the fact that while she is “not loyal to Donald Trump”, she is in agreement with the US President on one topic − transgender women’s participation in sport – and that she believes the inclusion of trans women in women’s tennis is “wrong”.
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