"A massive screw up" - Martina Navratilova criticizes Donald Trump's presidency after war plans signal debacle
18-time Major singles champion Martina Navratilova has once again criticized Donald Trump's government over its most recent scandal. The new administration has been accused of allowing a journalist unrestricted access to a top-secret group chat on the Signal messaging app. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg was allegedly granted access to the app for several days.
As a result, Goldberg was reportedly allowed to listen in on highly sensitive information about an imminent U.S. military strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Trump's supporters have rubbished Goldberg's claims, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was one of a number of government officials in the chat, was given the task of discrediting the whistleblower.
Navratilova, a long-term Trump critic and leading liberal voice, took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to challenge the president and his officials. She posted:
"This is such a massive screw up that succinctly sums up the incompetency of the trump presidency. Not one person did the right thing, not one."
Hesgeth, on the other hand, argued that Goldberg could not be trusted. He described Goldberg as a “discredited so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes", as reported by CNN.
Martina Navratilova often uses her social media platforms to criticize Donald Trump
Martina Navratilova's dislike for Donald Trump and his new administration is well-established. The Czech-born US citizen has expressed her views as far back as September 2017, during Trump's first term in office. Navratilova featured on The Late Late Show's YouTube channel and made her feelings about the businessman turned politician very clear. She said:
"I think he is a threat to the world, not just our country...I'm trying to do my part, to figure out how best to get involved, rather than just tweeting - that's not enough." (0.10 onwards)
More recently, on her X account, she described Trump as dishonest. In November 2024, Navratilova posted to her 455,000 followers that, in her view, Trump was:
"A lying liar, and the lies he lies about"
Martina Navratilova is an influential personality, despite retiring from tennis over 30 years ago. She often uses her platforms to raise concerns about societal and political issues. She is particularly interested in women's rights and women's sports in general.
In recent times, she has been vocal about the new policies introduced by Donald Trump. The US president and his government's alleged Signal scandal is the latest of several issues Navratilova has spoken up about.