Transcript: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," May 17, 2026

The following is the transcript of the interview with former Defense Secretary Robert Gates that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on May 17, 2026. MARGARET BRENNAN: Mr. Secretary, if you're ready, we'll dive right in. FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ROBERT GATES: Absolutely. MARGARET BRENNAN: So it's great to be back here with you, but there's a lot going on in the world. You said in December we're living in perhaps one of the most, if not the most, dangerous periods in our modern American history. Why do you feel that way? SECRETARY GATES: For the first time in our history, we face nuclear-armed adversaries in both Europe and Asia. When China finishes their strategic nuclear modernization, China and Russia together will have nearly twice as many strategic nuclear warheads deployed as we do. We have never faced a country, at least- at least since the British Empire, that had greater manufacturing and industrial capacity than the United States. We have not faced a country that was as technologically advanced as we are, ahead of us in a few areas, behind us in a few areas, pretty much even with us in a few others. So we face an adversary that is more powerful and- and has more non-military instruments of power than- than any adversary we've faced, certainly than the Soviet Union. …