Transcript: Rep. Don Bacon on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” June 7, 2026
The following is the transcript of the interview with Rep. Don Bacon, Republican of Nebraska, aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on June 7, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We now go to Republican Congressman Don Bacon, who joins us from Omaha, Nebraska. Welcome back to Face the Nation.
REP. DON BACON: Thank you, Margaret.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Before we get to national security, I want to ask you about politics and the level of candidates. Last month, Texas Republicans chose to make Ken Paxton elected to the Senate, despite the fact that, as Texas AG, he was indicted by the House controlled by Republicans on many charges of abuse of office, including bribery. His wife divorced him on what she called biblical grounds for adultery, and he was charged with fraud in 2015 which was later dropped. Despite all this, the President supported Senator John Cornyn, as well as the Republicans of Texas. In your party, does Trump’s goodwill weigh more than character?
REP. BACON: I think in most cases it does. His approval at the grassroots level often carries a lot of weight. I think it was a mistake. I think this has hurt the president. Most senators feel very close to Senator Cornyn. He was a great fundraiser. He’s helped a lot of these Republicans get elected across the country, so there’s a lot of credibility in John Cornyn. In fact, I know him too, and I admire the guy. And now they haven’t- we’ve nominated a guy in Texas who is probably the most vulnerable in the general election, and he’s putting that seat up for grabs. So, it was – I don’t think it was a wise decision, and I would say – something else here for the Democrat nominee. I think he’s also pretty weak, though, in Texas. So, I think both – both parties have nominated vulnerable people in general. But, John Cornyn could have easily won the seat, and now the Republicans will be spending a lot of money to hold it, and I think that was a mistake.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’ve chosen to retire, but if you had to campaign and explain all of this including the increase in gas prices, how would you appeal to the voters?
REP. BACON: Yeah, I’m trying, in my case, I’m trying to show- I’m trying to do the right thing, whether it’s President Trump’s position or not his position. And I’m just trying to look the voters in the eye who say, “Hey, I support Ukraine. I think the tariffs are wrong. I have votes to support. I also support the fact that we secure the border. I support, in general, what we’re doing in Iran, because Iran has been at war with us for 47 years.” So, I’m just trying to call balls and strikes, and I’m trying to be honest, and I’m trying to do when I’m elected what I’m campaigning for.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. Well, we’ll let you drive some of those balls and strikes on the other side of this commercial break that I have to take. So, please stay with us. We have many questions from Congressman Bacon, and many more from Face the Nation. Stay with us.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Welcome back to Face the Nation. We now return to our interview with Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon. Congressman, I want to go to Europe to talk about Ukraine, but let me first ask you about what was said in Normandy on Saturday. Secretary Hegseth appeared in his remarks to conflate immigration with the legacy of the D-Day landings by Allied forces liberating Europe from the Nazis. Listen.
[START SOUND ON TAPE]SEC. HEGSETH: Sadly, today, different European beaches are attacked by different dangerous ideas. Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria. Boats and men arrive. When will European officials do something about that attack?
[END SOUND ON TAPE]MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m not sure who they were working with in that analogy, but I wonder what he makes of Hegseth’s comment.
REP. BACON: You know, Normandy is a time of great celebration. You know, it was – I’ve been on the Omaha beaches, and you know, we lost about 3,000 soldiers on that beach in one day. That is where the focus should be. It’s an opportunity to celebrate with our partners. We are working together to defeat Nazi Germany, and one of the concerns many of us have when it comes to this administration, and especially the Pentagon, right now, they are very critical of Europe, they are critical of the EU, they are critical of NATO, they are critical of many of the countries that make up NATO, and you will never hear him criticize Russia, and that worries us. Why are they so weak in Russia which affects their foreign policy in Ukraine, their policy towards the Baltic, but they are quick to always want to criticize Europe. It reminds me of the message Secretary Hegseth sent to the Vice-President on Signal when he said how much he hates Europe. Well, I think that’s not good for America. It is not good for the security of our country, and we are allies. We have to work together to stand up to Russia, to stand up to China, to help in the Middle East, and his constant criticism, and the President’s threats to Greenland, and Canada. It is painful for us. Our partners have lost a lot of trust. Therefore, I do not see that these speeches of the Secretary were helpful.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I know you’ve been against Russia and Ukraine. You did that last week, along with some of your colleagues, as you put it in the words from the floor of the House. “This is our Churchill moment, or our Chamberlain moment, and by God, I will choose Churchill.” 17 Republicans joined in. The last time we saw a vote on Ukraine aid, there were 100 Republicans in support. What’s going on here? And how do you get the Senate to take what you’ve done over the line?
REP. BACON: Yeah, a couple of things here. First of all, the President has had a policy that he wants to negotiate an agreement. I don’t think it works. It’s like trying to act like a referee, trying to work with two different people in a boxing match, but it’s not. You have a country that is attacking Ukraine, they are bombing cities every night. There’s good versus bad here, and America should, you know, definitely be on the right side here, a democracy, a country that wants free markets, a country that wants to align with us. Russia hates us. I don’t know why the president doesn’t see that. Putin hates the United States, he hates what we stand for. So that’s a problem when it comes to the House, the Speaker doesn’t want his own, he doesn’t want to go before the president about this, so he urged a lot, and we call it a vote. I think he was wrong. I have waited a year and a half for this Congress to do something about Ukraine, and we have done nothing. There are no votes, no policies from the local leadership or the president to support the country that is fighting for its life. I agree with your previous discussion that Ukraine is the best right now, but Russia is bombing those cities every night, and we have to be there to help protect them from these ballistic missile attacks. The Speaker whipped us, that’s why I lowered that number. I think he was wrong. He says he supports Ukraine, but actions speak louder than words.
MARGARET BRENNAN: President Zelensky was on the show last Sunday, asking for more interceptors, but he also made it clear that he wanted friendly countries in Europe that had good relations with the US so they could produce Patriots. I know that your colleague Mike Turner wrote to the President last week asking that that part be introduced. Do you support us? I mean, what’s the catch?
REP. BACON: I support you. We can’t produce enough Patriots right now to handle what we’re doing in Iran to supply you. Ukraine, but we also need to have similar missile defenses in Asia, whether it’s North Korea or China, and we’re not producing enough, so we have to look to our allies to help create more production lines. I know Ukraine would love to help do that, and they need these missiles badly. What I will do in this case, and we have low assets because of Iran, I can sit down with our partners and look at what assets we have and come up with a strategy to provide anti-ballistic missile technology and capabilities to Ukraine, and we can’t do everything, but we have to sit down with our partners and create a plan and execute it.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Don Bacon, Republican from Nebraska. Thank you very much, sir. We will be right back.
