'Respect is earned, not given': Navratilova fires back at Trump's demand for deference

Former tennis professional Martina Navratilova fired back at President Donald Trump after he demanded respect for his office at the Faith and Freedom Coalition policy conference. "If you don't respect the president, you're going to have a problem. You're going to have a problem. They had no respect," Trump said. The 69-year-old was succinct in her reminder on X: "Respect is earned, not given."

Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion, is among Trump's most vocal critics, regularly taking to X with sharp observations. She recently castigated the president over the commemorative passport bearing his likeness, name, and the message "Welcome, but be good," released ahead of America's 250th anniversary. "The ego of this creature will never be satisfied," she declared, joining critics calling out a growing tendency under Trump's second term to slap the president's name on a range of things, including public institutions.

She also waded into the Reflecting Pool controversy, observing that Trump's touch was fatal, killing everything in its wake. "This reflecting pool makes it quite clear. Even with all the algae in it," she wrote in another post. Critics have piled on after the pool was beset with algae and peeled-off bits of its blue coating within days of its much-publicized reopening. Trump laid the blame squarely on vandals without offering evidence, while many pointed to no-bid contracts awarded to individuals with ties to Trump himself as the reason behind the shoddy execution.

Trump doubled down on his claim at the event that vandals used a box cutter to cut a 350-foot gash in the pool's lining, saying during a speech that those arrested in connection with the damage were already in custody, with more to follow. "...we just inspected it. We'll fix it right after the Fourth of July. Got to let the water out, just fix it. They would cut it, and they would grab this very expensive and very good material, totally water-free. And it is ripped. These people were sick," he said.

The 80-year-old covered a wide range of topics during his nearly hour-long speech, from the need to pass the SAVE America Act — which he framed as a measure to restore election integrity by requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship — to his claim that religion has made a comeback in America under his second term. He particularly singled out Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), warning that her failure to support the act would cost her any future election.