Gates told CNBC Tuesday that he thinks Trump has the opportunity to establish “American leadership through innovation,” adding that a lot of Trump’s message since his candidacy has been about “where he sees things not as good as he’d like.”

He continued: “But in the same way President Kennedy talked about the space mission and got the country behind that,” Gates continued, “I think whether it’s education or stopping epidemics … [or] in this energy space, there can be a very upbeat message that [Trump’s] administration [is] going to organize things, get rid of regulatory barriers, and have American leadership through innovation.”

Gates has recently spoken to the President-elect on the phone about the “power of innovation,” he told CNBC, adding that “he’s sure” there will be more conversation on the matter in the future. The conversation was the first time the two had ever spoken, he said.

“Of course, my whole career has been along those lines [innovation],” he said. “And he was interested in listening to that.”