In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sat down at the negotiating table in Munich and unilaterally surrendered the Sudetenland without Czech consent or input. This action, often associated with the negative label “appeasement” in the public eye, may not have been nearly as naive as it has been made out to be. Many sources indicate that, rather than believing his own claim to achieving “peace in our time,” Mr. Chamberlain was executing a careful maneuver designed to buy the U.K. time to prepare for war with Germany.

Regardless of Mr. Chamberlain’s intentions, his willingness to unilaterally surrender the territory of a U.K. ally was long remembered; in some quarters, the Munich Agreement is still known as the Munich Betrayal.

In the weeks since he took office, American President Donald Trump has been following the path set out by Mr. Chamberlain, in regard to Ukraine. The United States has been a major benefactor of Ukraine, which has relied on Western countries to provide military and financial support to its war effort since it was invaded by the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022. Since Mr. Trump has returned to office, however, he has not only threatened to terminate support for Ukraine but has initiated peace proceedings with the Russians while keeping the Ukrainians away from the negotiating table.

There are reasons to believe that Ukraine should negotiate with the Russians at this juncture. Although Ukraine’s efforts to reclaim land seized by the Russians have slowed, its seizure of land in Kursk Oblast last summer illustrated its enduring military capability and provided it with a vital bargaining chip in peace negotiations with the Russians. If Ukraine were to negotiate for peace by itself, or with the backing of its allies, it might well be in a reasonably strong negotiating position.

President Trump claims he wants to lead these peace negotiations, but, like Chamberlain selling out the Sudetenland at Munich, he seems uninterested in negotiating in partnership with the Ukrainians. In the weeks since Mr. Trump took office, he has engaged in rhetorical attacks on Ukraine and threatened to withhold future financial aid. President Vladimir Putin must be salivating at the prospect of a world in which Ukraine, unsupported by its American allies, has no choice but to offer him favorable terms and solidify his control over the Crimean peninsula, the Donbas, and the captured portions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.

On Friday, the American abandonment of Ukraine worsened. Mr. Trump held a contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Over the course of several minutes, Mr. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance insulted and belittled the Ukrainian leader. They made false claims about Ukraine and the war itself, even while Mr. Trump claimed that he was “aligned with the world,” and supportive of a peaceful global environment. Yet Mr. Trump seems fundamentally unaware of the realities of global politics, refusing to seriously consider the possibility of Mr. Putin violating a ceasefire agreement, and claiming ignorance about the basic facts of the war.

Mr. Trump doesn’t lack sources willing to provide him with information about the war, either; the United States fields some of the world’s premier intelligence agencies and has globally renowned experts available to analyze information for the President around the clock. Perhaps Mr. Trump wishes to revenge himself against Mr. Zelenskyy, who featured prominently in his first impeachment. Perhaps he prefers Mr. Putin’s personality, or thinks he leads a stronger state. Perhaps – and I would hesitate to write this if not for the sheer childishness of the insults Mr. Trump hurled at Mr. Zelenskyy during their meeting yesterday – he is simply in cognitive decline.

Although international politics allows state leaders to exert their personal feelings on the world stage, that does not mean it is wise policy. Regardless of Mr. Trump’s opinions about Mr. Zelenskyy, the war in Ukraine has been broadly beneficial to the United States. The U.S. has invested U.S.D. $119.5 billion in Ukraine, a relatively small sum of money that has effectively bogged down Russian military capability. Russian surpluses of weapons dating back to the days of the Soviet Union have been depleted; the smaller state’s reduced borders and smaller population seem unlikely to allow it to fully replenish the full supply of weapons it had prior to the war.

Alongside their factually inaccurate statements about the origins of the war, Mr. Trump and his allies in the media raise legitimate concerns about Ukrainian corruption. While there is little doubt that a great deal of corruption is present in Ukraine, it is indisputable that American and European support has been instrumental to Ukraine’s continued resilience. In other words, the money given to Ukraine for its defense is being used by Ukraine for its defense.

Yet despite the fact that the United States has the United States shouldn’t be negotiating with Ukraine for a rare earths deal; it should be unilaterally supporting the effective neutralization of one of its most dangerous adversaries. President Trump’s willingness to undermine a U.S. ally seriously endangers American interests. Conducting diplomacy in front of television cameras is not only ineffective, it undermines the image of the United States as a reliable international partner.

Mr. Trump can either grow up and work with Ukraine to bring the war to its conclusion, as he claims to want, or he can follow the path of Mr. Chamberlain and negotiate an end to the war that leaves the Ukrainians out in the cold, undermines American interests, and threatens the image of the United States as a trustworthy and valuable international partner.