Nixon, Haldeman & Ehrlichman on Public Relations and Foreign Policy

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

So what's the issue?

Sending houses, this is kind of funny.

I just looked up the actual data.

Five-day weather forecast.

It's cloudy with thunderstorms.

in Washington, clouding with thunderstorms in Camp David, clouding with thunderstorms in Peter's Game, clouding with thunderstorms in San Clemente, and clouding with thunderstorms in Palm Springs.

So, bad as it was, we couldn't have done any better anywhere else, apparently.

Yeah, I think the problem was, I had a nail in the field.

I had to set up a new saw.

But he used to make a ruthless check on the weather before we'd ever go anyplace in the future.

Because that was forecast, and there was no possibility to change.

That it was going to be during the night, and hell, if I want to sit around, I'm going to sit around, you know.

I can't take it and sit around and float.

I mean, it's no problem.

Somehow, we didn't mind it, but, you know.

Yeah, and it's too bad to go all the way down there and then go out about, you know, one hour a day.

It's not worth hanging on to all the press.

But now you've had that followed up with Kevin DeBrennan or somebody, one of the following types of guys, right?

The Navy got into that pretty good.

What you really, I really want to know, in other words, if I'm playing film, they say, look, we've really got that.

What's your final film?

Are you going out there at all?

The idea of staying three or four more days is ridiculous because it's going to be bad for the board.

Yes, it is.

That's what's been by the way.

We just can't do it.

Probably with early winding afters and better storms.

Every meeting probably only.

Yeah.

I try.

No comment.

We're coming on it.

But it's funny.

We had a good season with Donna.

Yeah, but it didn't go well last time.

I didn't even say anything.

I didn't say anything from any sports.

The quietness was early morning, followed by showers.

Henry said he'd eat.

He said that he'd already come off the beach once in a while today.

I mean, he only did that after some of the wine.

Well, I'm glad that you guys were thankful.

Don't worry about it.

It's your judgment, too, that if you can't, you know, you need to wait a week before you get your start to take your time.

Well, I'm glad, but here we got this one here.

Nobody's going to say, I didn't get any time off.

You didn't get any time off.

Well, what I had is I was there Saturday, Sunday.

Yeah, but it didn't count.

It was though that Kissinger came down Sunday.

You met with him, and you met with Bundy, and all that.

The picture ran all night yesterday.

You didn't get any time off.

No, you went to church on Sunday.

Pretty good.

Hell of a good story out of that.

Was there?

Oh, yeah.

It really was, because Huffman played it beautifully.

He made it beautiful.

Well, they said they changed his text to Blessed are the Peacemakers, and went through the night of the generation of peace, the reception by the people, the reception for the people, you know, almost any place you think the reception will be.

I don't know what that means.

But I think it was just right there.

We got a nice reception at the airport.

It was totally spot on.

Man, that was a good hotel.

That was a good flight.

I didn't see anything on the hotel.

I think that you got a very, very good flight.

You wouldn't know on the airport.

And I didn't see anything on the church.

And that, funny thing, the Miami Herald, the 500th airport, there were at least, I don't know, at least four, three, four hotels.

You can't get them.

About 500 is a big crowd.

They don't realize it.

They don't scream as much as they think.

That's right.

Because people don't know the difference.

Correct.

500 is a lot.

And they really don't.

We look at that crowd and figure, people, as long as there's a crowd, as long as there's a picture of people that are going to be signing, that's where we'll get it or whatever.

And as you've got that, I'm going to do this, so follow me now.

I'm still doing that.

I can't do that.

Every morning, I can't go back to sleep.

I start to stay up late at night.

It doesn't work.

Apparently, you just gotta wait.

It just takes time.

I think that Tom, I think, is in very good shape now.

He happens to be alive.

He seems to be.

He's all right.

He's fine.

He's doing good.

I don't know.

He can't be there then.

He won't be able to finish.

Why didn't he finish the assignment?

I don't know.

He had to add countries all over the place.

It was a major foreign policy tour.

And he said he was out of Timor in South America.

We had to drop him.

Did he?

Good.

That's great.

What do you know about, uh, well, what you do, your posture, and uh, we've talked about that quite a bit over the weekend, and uh,

No, he didn't.

We talked politics.

We talked politics, but he didn't talk about what I should do.

He just...

It's kind of interesting, because he has the same very strong feeling that Colson's got.

I guess, to be clear, from the early stuff he decided not to try to work on until the 90s, but I know John feels the same way about it.

No, I think John's backing up over the years, which is kind of interesting.

economy with his brain.

He says he's all for his leadership.

He says the president has now sold the American people on his strength.

He has sold them that he is not just an ordinary politician.

He said that's something you could have hoped for but not really thought you'd accomplish, even with the momentum of these trips.

But you have accomplished it.

He said now, for God's sake, don't screw it up.

The only thing that can go wrong now is if you guys make it go wrong.

And I said, well, what do you think he ought to do during the month of June?

We've got a period now, John.

We've already decided we're going to lay low during the Democratic Convention period.

He said, well, you sure as hell better.

Correct.

He said, let them eat each other up and make sure everybody sees everybody.

Because you don't want to detract from that one bit.

But then I said, well, we've got three weeks.

Let's say this week is pretty much out.

You just can't this week.

Also, we ought to fix it.

You've got to lay low.

You've got to fix it.

On your head, it's a minor scar.

This, I don't think it's going to do this in the scenario, this is kind of a...

It's kind of related to the dude I was talking to against the comic where you just hit the sharp edge.

Yeah, the upright, you know, that metal piece of the window track.

How did it happen?

Did somebody push you against it?

No, I was looking out the window, taking a movie as we were pulling out of the, and it drived out of the crowd, and the car in front of us stopped, and our car jammed on its brakes, and we hit the car in front of us, and it just shoved my head forward.

It was pretty good.

It was pretty good, yeah.

I said we've got three weeks in June after this week before July, before we go to the Democratic Party.

And what should we do then?

Because there are a lot of options we could get out.

We've got a lot of good opportunities and a lot of pressures to get out into the country.

We've got a lot of things we can do here.

We can make some big moves here, do some public events out of the White House and stir up a lot of activity.

And he said, just absolutely don't do anything to create a big stir.

Don't make any effort to get up front.

What about the Janice Sapphire theory of momentum?

He just got it off.

He says, publicly, the President's posture should be that he is working very hard on foreign policy.

Foreign policy.

Ah.

Not in events.

He should be getting his treaties developed and worked through with Congress, and he should be shoring up and touching his foreign policy bases.

Like the meeting with Ted, he said the meeting, he said my trip, this is exactly right.

And he got the tie to that as well.

He ought to have a lot of meetings with Kissinger, and there ought to be a lot of things going on.

So you've got to get Bill Rogers' work in here, and there are things.

Just keep the momentum going on foreign policy, publicly.

— 4 min 25 s with no transcribed speech —

But it's negative, and you should be identified with it as his view.

And he said he should play a very low-key posture even as president.

In other words, even in what he's doing in the White House.

So he wouldn't have a big press conference?

I wouldn't.

I don't think he'd have any more press conferences.

I'm almost convinced.

Except in the office.

I didn't ask him about the press conference specifically.

Go ahead.

Then he said it would be okay to do a couple of major conventions.

And then he made a pitch for the Alliance International in Mexico City.

He might have arrived there.

But he said, Mike, you knew about the Rotary Convention.

And then I mentioned the JC Convention.

He said, well, a couple like that would be very good if he does it on a very presidential-type scale.

And he should keep talking about his trip.

Anytime he's not on that, he should be talking about Moscow and Peking.

and all that.

Although he should be thinking about the domestic issues and politics, but he shouldn't say anything about the domestic issues, and he should say absolutely nothing about politics.

So that's his view.

Now, Colston's view has become the same only more so.

In fact, he said on the Schedule of Recommendations, the stuff we've been working on with the police, he said, I want automatically to be removed from endorsing any state of the event, because I don't believe the President should not do any public event.

You know, didn't we sort of think this after Channel 2?

Remember, we came back every month off the plane.

Our whole image had changed.

Yeah, but we didn't, we didn't bargain for that.

And they, they aren't, at least so far, they haven't delivered or started something like that.

I'm sorry that they had done it before we got back, before we got off the plane.

Yeah, that's a great point.

I agree with all the points.

Now go ahead with Colson.

Because we may be kidding ourselves, but Colson just feels that... Well, except in...

I don't know why.

But he won't give, he won't even okay a, you're going to have to put a little lead on him if you get the chance.

He won't.

He won't okay a Q&A or any speech inserts unsolved or anything.

You know, we've got people who want to help us who are not.

We can't give the material.

I'll talk to him about it.

I'll get him in today.

His argument is, to our guys, is, you know, for Christ's sake, for once we've done something done right and we're in a perfect position.

I don't know who you are.

I'd like to screw it up.

And, uh, to a degree you may be right, but we can't, there isn't going to be a void existing.

And Henry can't carry the whole line of thought.

Well, by then also, the Democrats would be off screwing around, talking about, you know, the whole, uh, two or three of them around here today.

Where, uh, you read them on the paper, and now you've got the goddamn Washington Post in hand on it.

He argues, for instance, that he should under no circumstances do the J.C. Convention.

Because there's a lot of work.

There's a lot of work preparing for it.

There's a lot of effort and time spent going out there.

You have to get there.

You have to go in.

And you get a maximum of two minutes of COVID-19.

And what good does it do at this point in time?

He, he, he, he argues, for instance, that you should, under no circumstances, do the J.C. convention.

Because, as I've explained, there's a lot of work.

He already said it in the public.

Let's face it, there's a lot of work preparing for it.

There's a lot of effort and time spent going out there.

Okay, well, we're going down.

Yeah, it isn't so much.

We're right in Florida, here in Florida, something like that, but anyway.

You have to get there, you have to go in, and you get a maximum of two minutes of COVID-19.

And what good does it do at this point in time?

Well, he also argues that sure, you can get a grievance about a co-patient and all that, but is that a hell of a good picture of a bunch of, as he puts it, the old pledge of the president standing there with his arms up before a bunch of screaming Trump and J.C.?

And I argue, well, you don't have to.

The president will play that game one of a number of ways.

He doesn't have to go in and put his arms up at the convention and come in on a very cool kind of basis and still have a frank job.

He got out of the car.

He played it so cool that he didn't go to those people.

He just stood there and walked on by them.

And they then scourged their lines.

And he went and he moved very slowly.

And it wasn't that you weren't eager to get to the pole.

You were responding to the pole seat.

I just thought you were over.

Five minutes to the pole.

But we are countering to that very strongly that you've got to have a press conference.

This is because that's not absolutely essential.

That's a hell of a press conference.

I think I was doing an office press conference before I did a big one.

That's an earthen skew has modified as I read it.

I have a great memory.

I think he's right, but I think you ought to identify him.

You know what Tom thinks about the message?

He says, if you agree, or you're against, what's going on?

You know, he still thinks that he's sick to everybody's heads.

He's established that he may be right.

But the way the governor went down last night, I think, well, that's your own...

His whole pitch, in his quotes, is giving you the strength, even in that one book, to give you just a general picture on the things that you need, just so you don't have to get into being what you believe.

The stronger you feel you should, you get borrowed down in all these little things.

The problem is there's something there.

But each is

Yeah, so John gets back.

John brought it.

Yeah, John's sweet because he'll be back on Thursday.

Well, I should have talked about it with John.

Yeah, John just won't be confirmed until tomorrow, so he can't be named.

He'll have to be confirmed.

Yeah.

Most will probably be confirmed right after, but we'll have you two together, and I think we're gonna have a joint ceremony.

And not make a public bust out of it, no, but make it important, let it be covered by DP, and we're gonna have the Chief Justice do it, because he's got a sponsor, if he will.

Well, at least Angela Davis was around, so...

In fact, Justice Trigger is too thin to make your requirements.

It's, uh, did you know what they have?

I heard they made one at a party on the last shift, and I didn't know about the last shift.

I also saw it on the last shift.

I said, it's just, it's just amazing.

Jesus Christ, they could have at least got her a possession of a damn gun or something, or a body gun, huh?

In a way, it's out of the way, incidentally.

Hey, I've got my girlfriend right around his neck.

She's already with her.

Right.

Absolutely.

And that's going to make people very happy.

We're going ahead with Irving's analysis.

And part of the thing that we should do is a lot of press conferences, too.

Yeah.

See, he wanted you to do it.

We did the right thing.

Absolutely.

I wasn't sure, but from what I heard, I think it was the right thing.

In your case,

the cramping stuff that were apparent and just had an enormous impression.

That's the helicopter and the main fight.

And although, as I said, the boycott of the Democrats kind of played, I don't think it helped that.

It didn't get much in.

What it got was, what do you put against that?

I think it is one.

We should pick them.

And because they all feel that if you're best, that you've done the best in that, that it's a better position for you than a speech degree, because there is a contest.

And because it breaks the pattern, because a lot of speeches on television, they haven't done

while you're totally presidential, complete command of the whole range of things in a way that you can't show yourself in speech.

You can't cover the range.

And it's a way to get on television.

I don't know.

I can see the voices being harangued for four or five questions off right now.

We didn't get into that specifically.

We had that earlier.

What do you say to that?

put you on the record one final time before

I'm inclined to be a guest of some way or the other.

I mean, you know, I realize it's a hell of a job.

Surely, I wouldn't do it without you.

I think Rotter is better if you do want that.

have it done, and the JC's have not been prepared.

I beg to speak to one small man.

Okay, that's fine.

I'm sure McGregor wouldn't have done it otherwise.

He did one for the first time.

He didn't want me, you know.

Anyway, he was correct.

He didn't want me.

He said, I hate him.

I despise him.

He said, I'm sure he wouldn't want me.

But, of course, he has to stay.

Well, I look forward to seeing what he does tomorrow.

I've been speaking to senators.

Well, let me say, the main thing I can remember is Texas, not Hillary.

I mean, there's a nonpolitical appearance in Texas at some point.

Now, it being a Sunday evening, I don't think it is.

I wouldn't be concerned about the coverage of that.

Yeah, I would just do it as a Texas event.

And it won't be a good, it's like a baseball.

I don't know how many Texans there'd be.

Oh, I got two Texans.

I'm thinking about going to Houston and get a hell of a cover in Texas.

Yeah.

Darvin County, more or less, is doing his ranching.

No, but he'll do anything.

You know, that's all set.

There's no question about it.

He's alive.

He's walked a lot tighter now than he would have been if he had stayed secretary.

He doesn't have to fight with Earl, my children, and all that stuff.

It's not their fault.

But it is.

But he could have a fight with them.

He's happier now.

Cooler.

Okay, go where you saw.

I started there.

Camp David is cutting people to the maximum.

Well, or if you want to invest, we might want to do that before we do that.

Right?

This next week.

This company.

Not this company.

This is the problem.

I'm going to take Rotary System.

Rotary System.

I'm thinking about that after the pensionary age.

I think that's right.

I think you get a hell of a lot of political clout by saying the president's got this captive group that they seem to be running up to to have them cheering.

We've got to do what it ought to be, brother.

Please decline the extent of the answer, actually.

I'm turning down the National Association of County Schools here.

.

It's not a good form, though.

David, can you consider the possibility of dropping the chopper if that's been seen go waterproof?

I'm going to turn the pulse and see if he's breathing.

And then we'll get to the last road carry.

Yes, sir.

We got him.

Oh, yeah.

That's worth trying.

Which one do we use?

Prices?

No problem, please.

The first time the President of the United States spoke to 100 million Russians on television.

Forget the actual words.

Say 33 o'clock.

Why don't you say 33?

I think you're doing well.

President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States President of the United States

Not with J.C. J.C. is a political thing in its own way.

I'm not going to be angry with you.

I think it'd be good if you could get a helper or something.

I'm not going to be angry with you.

That's all right.

It's a waste of time in one sense, but it sets up the other one better.

Just straight enough questions to make sure we have enough to answer.

What are you doing?

That's fine.

I'll follow that.

Just follow that.

If you get better with the bomb, aim for it.

If you get better with the bomb, aim.

I'll take it.

Our position has been that it's more important for us to have a clear position on busing than it is for us to get higher education.

Oh, it's better to put it on.

Well, it's got a problem.

It's got a problem.

It's got all these people putting it in my left ear.

It's got a problem.

Do they really think they're gonna have a boat come out here tomorrow?

Yeah.

That probably shows their appetite.

Bigger tentatively on Friday for this one.

The other question is whether you want to meet with the executive committee of the National Governing Council or not.

God damn it, I'll fly in on Thursday.

No, sir.

Good.

I'll be sharing the phone with everyone.

They're supportive.

We don't want to, though.

The first department that we ought to meet with is law.

It's an outing of officials, county officials.

This is the seat of the National Governing Council of the Union County of Houston.

The executive committee is going to fly out to meet with Senator Long on 10 o'clock Thursday morning.

The Vice President has suggested that you meet with him first to reassert your leadership in Long River Park Road.

Thank you.

We need to get into a problem of specifics on those.

Because we need to be long in this thing at all.

We're in a problem.

We don't want to.

That's why we want to do it.

You know, Larry yesterday dropped the 3.5 to 5.5 million supplemental for Vietnam.

and the $5 billion happens to alongside the growth in insurance by the federal government.

What the hell is that?

I'm pretty not familiar enough with that.

I'd agree with you.

I'd agree with you that I want to say it, but step away from it and put it that way to God.

Do you want to meet with the leader of the VO guerrilla forces, Miles?

Do you want to meet with your general?

No.

This comes from a friend who has been very helpful.

Well, Keith, I don't want to hurt their problem if I'm going to a restaurant.

I don't want to screw it back down.

I'll be here June 13th and 15th, and he's traveling in the US from the 16th through the 23rd.

Robert really stuck with that in any major country.

If they come on so-called state visit, I understand that's a threat to us, but if they come on an unofficial visit, you know, then it should be done.

And that's the deal.

And we've been through that.

What's your opinion about that TV anchorman thing?

All right, let's restate over.

You know, as you read all this press conference, we've been planning on the 14 on Wednesday.

And then on TV, when they did that last week.

Okay.

Yeah, that's .

I'm sorry to do that.

You'll be for Henry to testify on the song.

Let's see if you get someone else.

Ray's got, uh, questions whether he talks about getting back to the radio conference.

I love it.

Well, I'm still, that's probably not a good idea.

He's got two minutes.

He's got a three-part series.

He's also got one in the end.

And that's very good for this.

He's one of the people I'm waiting to talk to this summer.

You don't do a great race on my house.

All right, if we want to make it so, we can make it ourselves.

He's very tender, too.

He just won't let anybody say anything about this whole thing.

Henry's people have been working on it, thoroughly worked out through his office, but Henry has not himself.

A couple of times.

About what time?

About 2.30.

All right.

2.30 is fine.

All right.

Oh, look, there's only one thing that we'll have to get to.

Take a quick look.

All right, we're just fine.

The purpose of the word, get out on that.

I don't need a picture or a report on it or anything else.

I agree.

That's what I meant.

I don't think we should, but the reason is that it is for purpose.

What I want to do here is actually bother just me.

That's what we intend.

That's true.

I don't think he came up, I think it was just he was concerned that a fight was raising the point of whether .

He has in the past and she's .

He could take the secretary, but maybe .

There is something you want to do.

That doesn't work out well for her, though.

But you didn't have her there before.

You didn't have her there, Bob.

She's there.

She has to be.

Somebody's taking her place.

I think that's her problem.

Let me really work on this.

I don't know what that sounds like, but in Florida, in Florida, there were a number of just marble shards.

Kids and so forth.

But these trees are here.

that's what i meant yeah

Or it's just because you know so much more than me.

So you have to be more than proud.

And the business here, you don't really do that much for any money.

So you have to be more than proud.

You have to be more than proud.

I've checked up there today, just to work this today, but it was supposed to be cloudy for a while.

Thank you.

Nixon, Haldeman & Ehrlichman on Public Relations and Foreign Policy

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on June 6, 1972

Cite this conversation

Nixon, Haldeman & Ehrlichman on Public Relations and Foreign Policy

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on June 6, 1972

Related conversations

Cite this conversation