In a spot for Home of the Brave, the tennis star talks about growing up in a totalitarian country, and the dangers of staying silent in the face of Trump’s authoritarian presidency.
WASHINGTON – December 10, 2025 – Today Home of the Brave launched a new video ad featuring tennis star Martina Navratilova speaking out against Donald Trump’s authoritarian presidency, and calling on others to resist his illegal and unconstitutional actions. In the video Navratilova, who was born in communist Czechoslovakia, talks about growing up in a totalitarian country, and the warning signs that the US is headed in the same direction under Donald Trump.
Home of the Brave is a new initiative highlighting the catastrophic harms of Trump’s second term, and urging more leaders to speak out. You can watch our new video here:
Martina says in the video: “I defected from a totalitarian regime, and like hell am I going to be cowed again, and have to be careful about what I say. I grew up in a Communist country, Czechoslovakia. So I know what it looks like and feels like to live in a totalitarian regime where you cannot speak your mind or worse yet put in prison for political opinions. I’m so proud to be an American, but I’m embarrassed for what Trump is doing to our country.”
She closes by saying: “I am pissed off as hell about people capitulating to Trump … This was the freest country in the world when I defected in 1975. If this was the situation for me now, I would definitely not choose to live here … When you leave a totalitarian regime and you come to a freedom-loving country, of course you have to speak up. Speaking out is the patriotic thing to do. When you see something wrong, don’t be afraid.”
Home of the Brave was launched earlier this year and has released more than 175 first-person testimonial videos of Americans sharing how the Trump administration has hurt them. We have also released videos with other leaders speaking out against the administration, including frontman Ken Casey and US Army veteran George Retes. And we publish a newsletter on Substack to highlight these stories.
To be connected with spokespeople from Home of the Brave, please contact [email protected].
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