Freedom is not negotiable: Trump’s strategy might be risky
Dangerous actors are not puppets; they can easily undermine the American president's best intentions.
By Fiamma Nirenstein
JNS
Nov 22, 2025
Volodymyr Zelensky is facing a cruel dilemma: “Losing dignity or risk losing a key partner.” That is how the Ukrainian president described the U.S. conditions placed upon him in a new 28-point peace plan as he continued his desperate struggle against Russia’s brutal aggression.
While America seeks to accelerate a Russian-Ukrainian peace process, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resolve remains far tougher than Trump expected. Zelensky knows that accepting too much compromise could lead to the surrender of Ukraine’s honor along with its territory.
As Zelensky addressed his nation on Friday, another scene unfolded in Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump warmly welcomed Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City, to the White House. There were smiles all around; a photo-op guaranteed to circulate worldwide. But what exactly was being celebrated?
Mamdani represents the global surge of antisemitic, pro-jihadist ideology now sweeping through radicalized corners of the West. A founder of Students for Justice in Palestine, he accuses Israel of war crimes, champions a “globalized intifada,” threatens to arrest the Israeli prime minister should he set foot in his city and pledges to cut cooperation with (and funding of) Jewish institutions.
Under his watch, demonstrators besieged Park East Synagogue with death threats, and instead of condemning the perpetrators, he accused the Jews of gathering illegally. Zionism itself, in his view, is a crime.
It would be hard to invent a more hostile worldview to the principles upon which America stands. Freedom—especially the freedom of a persecuted people to return home—has been the ideological basis of U.S. leadership since the end of slavery and the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865.
And yet, Trump extended a jovial embrace to the NYC mayor-elect who takes office on Jan. 1, 2026. Trump believes he can maneuver the forces of instability—Russia, Qatar, Turkey and, now, radical Islamist actors in his own country—into a circle of peace. He believes that with enough personal diplomacy, he can temper movements whose true aim is the dismantling of the Western order itself.
Trump is playing a bold and perilous game by trying to align with determined and aggressive actors—Putin, Turkey, Qatar and Mamdani. The risk is enormous. The enemies of freedom can smile when needed, bide their time and strike when the opportunity comes. Agreements, for them, are merely pauses between battles.
Sometimes we assume we can control forces that could ultimately betray us. We cannot rely solely on such a strategy; the West must remain armed and vigilant. Dangerous actors are not puppets; they can easily undermine even Trump’s best intentions. Freedom is nonnegotiable, and the risks for Trump are real.
Israel understands this. Zelensky understands this. They know that freedom has enemies who do not negotiate in good faith—and that the fight must continue all the way to victory.
America must be careful not to forget the value of the freedom it once fought to guarantee. Today, the choice facing Zelensky may soon face all of us: honor and survival—or appeasement and defeat.
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