Martina Navratilova amused as Donald Trump’s inadvertent praise for Kamala Harris & Gavin Newsom resurfaces amid feud with California governor

August 18, 2025

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Tennis legend Martina Navratilova reacted to a meme drawing attention to US President Donald Trump’s comments from last year about San Francisco. Before the presidential elections last fall, in August 2024, Trump inadvertently praised California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee Kamala Harris, while hailing the city.

While visiting the Golden City, Trump said San Francisco was great 15 years ago. However, at the time, Harris was San Francisco’s district attorney while Newsom was the mayor. Seeing this, Navratilova couldn’t help but laugh off Trump’s comment.

“lol,” she reacted.

Donald Trump was constant in his verbiage, accusing Harris of destroying San Francisco. During his speech at the nation’s southern border in Cochise County, Arizona, last year, he said:

“She destroyed San Francisco, absolutely destroyed it. She destroyed California. You can’t go into California. You can’t go into San Francisco. It’s not livable. Fifteen years ago, it was the best city in the country, one of the best cities in the world, and now you can’t do anything.”

Kamala Harris was one of the top prosecutors during that time. She advanced to the position of California’s attorney general in 2011.

Martina Navratilova has spoken out against Donald Trump’s actions in the past

Last year in December, Donald Trump was reelected for a second term in the Oval Office. However, his actions since have continuously sparked intense debates among netizens. Among them is Martina Navratilova, who has always candidly shared her political views.

The former tennis player previously condemned Trump after the president reinstated the Presidential Fitness Test and appointed Lawrence Taylor, a registered sex offender, to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

"Nothing like hiring a sex offender and a former drug abuser for this particular job…." Navratilova wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Moreover, the 18-time Grand Slam winner has also opposed Trump's decision to deploy 800 National Guard troops to battle the rise of violent crimes in Washington. She wrote:

"He would love nothing more than an excuse to open fire on protesters."

Most recently, after a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska, where no peace agreement was reached on Ukraine, Navratilova commented on the US President's body language. The 68-year-old wrote:

"The body language of a beaten man…"

Moreover, Martina Navratilova has also expressed outrage over Trump's alleged connection with known child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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