Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 25 › Conversation 025-036
Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Campaign and George McGovern
Sunday, June 11, 1972 · 9:51 AM–10:20 AM ET · White House Telephone
AI Summary
President Nixon and Charles Colson engaged in a wide-ranging strategic assessment of the 1972 presidential campaign, focusing heavily on the political prospects of Democratic front-runner George McGovern. They analyzed McGovern's electoral strengths, ideological vulnerabilities, and potential weaknesses regarding his tax and welfare proposals. The discussion further evaluated voter demographics, polling data from the California primary, and the effectiveness of campaign organization as they formulated the administration's political strategy against the Democratic opposition.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 111.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 22.3 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 01:22:56 into the tape and ends around 01:54:02.
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On June 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:51 am to 10:20 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 025-036 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 25-36
Date: June 11, 1972
Time: 9:51 am - 10:20 am
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles W. Colson.
[See Conversation No. 341-17]
*****************************************************************
[Previous archivists categorized this section as unintelligible. It has been rereviewed and
released 10/26/2017.]
[Unintelligible]
[025-036-w001]
[Duration: 31m 10s]
John N. Mitchell's schedule
-Forthcoming television interview, June 11, 1972
-Ability as a lawyer
Washington Star story
1972 campaign
-George S. McGovern
-Press coverage
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Memorandum
-Organization
-Oregon
-Front runner
-Polls
-California primary
-George S. McGovern’s showing
-Media coverage
-George C. Wallace
-Supporters
-Reaction to George S. McGovern
-George S. McGovern
-Effectiveness on television
-Intellectuals
-Perception of electorate
-Coolness
-Ego
-Weak points
-Media coverage
-Radicalism
-Voting record
-Extremism on left and right
-Leftists
-Comparison with rightists
-Will do anything to get power
-Rightists
-Recognize principles
-Comedians
-Edward O. Sullivan, III
-Leftists forgiveness of sins
-Republicans
-More comfortable in opposition
-Democrats
-Only enjoy in power
-Want government to do something for them
-George S. McGovern
-Press coverage
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Income taxes
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Stewart R. Mott
-George S. McGovern’s welfare proposal
-Analysis
-George S. McGovern
-White House strategy
-Gallup poll
-Richard M. Scammon
-Voter attitudes
-California primary
-Percentages of votes needed
-Democratic vote
-Republican vote
-1968 election organization
-The President’s opinion
-New York vote
-Activists
-Volunteers for campaigns
-Importance
-Black vote
-Percentages
-Status of the Republican Party
-George S. McGovern campaign
-Organization
-Effectiveness
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson
-Progress of campaign
*****************************************************************Also recorded on June 11, 1972
- 025-035 9:22 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:22 am and 9:51 am.
- 341-015 9:22 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:22 am and 9:51 am.
- 341-016 9:22 AM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:22 am and 9:51 am.
- 341-017 9:51 AM — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:51 am to 10:20 am.
- 025-037 10:20 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 10:41 am.
- 341-018 10:20 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 10:41 am.
- 341-019 10:20 AM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 10:41 am.
- 025-038 10:41 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 10:41 am to 10:54 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 025-036, June 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/025-036 (accessed September 19, 2026).