Bill Kristol, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, and Eliot Cohen, an advisor to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, joined the Jewish Democratic Council of America on Monday to make a conservative and pro-Israel pitch for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president.

The two argued that, despite some disagreements, Harris is largely pro-Israel and would be a more consistent and reliable hand in Middle East policy than former President Donald Trump.

The event comes at a time when Republicans are working to peel off traditionally Democratic Jewish voters, and while Democrats work to win over conservatives skeptical of Trump and his brand of GOP politics. Kristol highlighted that the Jewish community vote could be critical next month: even “small movement” among Jewish voters could help swing the election in key states, he said.

Both Kristol and Cohen are longtime never-Trump Republicans, dating back to the 2016 election. They argued that supporters of Israel can’t rely on Trump to be a consistent supporter of Israel, arguing that his foreign policy has been mercurial and transactional.

Kristol acknowledged that Harris “probably isn’t quite as good as she could be” on Israel, but argued that few administrations, including that of George W. Bush, have entirely been on the same page as Israel.

“Harris may not be entirely perfect for some people’s point of view, but… directionally it’s just fundamentally different, and Harris is on the right side of this directional vector and Trump is on the Buchanan side,” Kristol said, referring to the hard-right, isolationist GOP presidential candidate Pat Buchanan.

Kristol said that he sees the Biden administration as having been remarkably durable and consistent in its support for Israel through an extended war, something that many previous administrations have been reluctant to support.

“I have infinitely more confidence in Kamala Harris than I do in Donald Trump,” Cohen agreed, describing the administration’s Israel policy as “remarkable” overall, despite concerns with some elements of it.

Cohen said he’s “not really sure Trump has a view on policy, per se,” arguing that it’s “foolish” to say Trump will be “good for Israel” because “Trump intends only, I think, to be good for himself.” 

Cohen highlighted recent comments by former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton that Trump can’t be counted on to be a reliable supporter of Israel. He further noted that Trump held an extended grudge and publicly lashed out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Cohen said that Harris’ statement on Oct. 7 and her work on the issue of rapes committed by Hamas as part of the Oct. 7 attack show her to be “somebody with a moral center who keenly felt what the horrors of that day were and that reassures me.”

He said that he also trusts that Harris has a real and ongoing commitment and connection to the Jewish community and will “continue to be fundamentally supportive of Israel, if not uncritical.”

Kristol warned that a second Trump term would likely be “more dangerous” in terms of foreign policy than his first, as Trump is now less tied to and restrained by traditionalist GOP foreign policy figures than he was in his first term.

Both Kristol and Cohen described Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump’s vice-presidential nominee, as  particularly concerning on foreign policy. Kristol added that he’s skeptical of Vance’s insistence that he is pro-Israel, despite his overall more isolationist worldview. 

Kristol noted that Trump, despite his hard-line posture toward Iran while in office, has been speaking more recently about pursuing a deal with Tehran. “God knows what money could change hands with Iran as it has with other countries,” Kristol said.

Cohen said he believes that there would be “all kinds of openings” for Iran and other U.S. adversaries to gain favor with Trump and advance their goals, adding that he believes Trump would be eager to cut deals with them.

Cohen said that, while he was unsure Harris would be willing to strike Iran’s nuclear program, he’s “quite sure Donald Trump would not be” and that Trump “couldn’t care less” about the fundamentally malignant nature of the Iranian regime, whereas Harris cares about its human rights abuses and other malign activities.

Cohen also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom Trump is close, could push Trump toward a more permissive Iran policy.

Both argued that anticipated moves by Trump to weaken NATO and the U.S. alliance system would ultimately hurt Israel and undermine the U.S.’ global power and influence.

Kristol also argued that American Jews have benefited from the strength of American institutions and norms that Trump has sought to undermine. And he characterized others in Trump’s orbit and their goals as fundamentally harmful to the Jewish community.

Many in the current MAGA world who would be executing the next administration’s policies are “people who are not friends of the Jewish people,” Kristol said, describing them as “Christian extremists” who are not “ultimately respectful of Israel as the home of the Jewish people, as a Jewish and democratic state… and they’re not terribly respectful at all of the interests of Jews here in the U.S.”

Kristol and Cohen also highlighted the GOP ticket’s close ties to Tucker Carlson, who they said has helped propagate antisemitism.

Kristol characterized Harris and President Joe Biden as taking a stronger stance against antisemitic elements of their party than Trump has, further accusing Trump of engaging in antisemitism in recent comments suggesting Jews would bear responsibility for a potential election loss.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported that Kristol served in the George W. Bush administration; he served as chief of staff to former Vice President Dan Quayle.