Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 758 › Conversation 758-004

Nixon & Mitchell on 1972 election and Republican Party

Tuesday, August 1, 1972 · 8:31 AM–8:37 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.Conversation758-004 on Tape 758StartTuesday, August 1, 1972 at 8:31 AMEndTuesday, August 1, 1972 at 8:37 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 758-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John N. Mitchell discuss political strategy regarding Republican primary opposition and the potential role of Nelson Rockefeller. The conversation focuses on securing a clear path for the President's reelection campaign by neutralizing potential internal rivals and managing party financial support. Nixon emphasizes the importance of consolidating influence within the party to ensure his program remains unchallenged throughout the campaign cycle.

Audio

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NARA Description

On August 1, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:31 am to 8:37 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 758-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 758-4

Date: August 1, 1972
Time: 8:31 am - 8:37 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John N. Mitchell.

[See Conversation No. 28-27; three items have been withdrawn]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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I called and said, you've got a Republican opponent.

He said, Rockefeller isn't getting it.

He, Rockefeller, won't get it.

He won't get any money.

I called him first, and he said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

We can get that guy just to drop out of sight and get me in the home so that I can just wash this thing out in the yard.

So I just like to leave it with you and talk about everything that can be done in you.

Yeah.

Well, we should on the basis that I, I don't want to be an appearance job posting in the president's program or the chairman's appropriations, particularly when, when they have supported us.

Not all our actions seem to win in the States, and for darn sure.

Now, first,

All right.

Also recorded on August 1, 1972

758-001 7:41 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:41 am and 8:20 am.
758-002 8:20 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:20 am to 8:22 am.
028-026 8:22 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:22 am and 8:31 am.
758-003 8:22 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:22 am and 8:31 am.
028-027 8:31 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 8:31 am to 8:37 am.
758-005 8:37 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:37 am and 8:39 am.
758-006 8:39 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:39 am to 10:09 am.
758-007 10:09 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Elliot L. Richardson, Roger O. Egeberg, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., James H. Cavanaugh, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:09 am to 10:31 am.

All 46 conversations from August 1, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Mitchell on 1972 Presidential Campaign June 11, 1972 · 8 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on George McGovern and Democratic Party June 7, 1972 · 13 min
Nixon, Colson & Ehrlichman on 1972 Presidential Campaign and George McGovern September 19, 1972 · 31 min
Nixon, Colson & Sanchez on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Vietnam War October 24, 1972 · 13 min
Nixon, Haldeman & Ziegler on 1972 presidential campaign and Press relations October 12, 1972 · 33 min
Nixon & Dole on 1972 Election and Political Strategy January 10, 1972 · 3 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 758-004, August 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/758-004 (accessed November 1, 2026).