Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 001-078
Date: Tuesday, April 13, 1971 at 11:14 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-078

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Yes, sir, Mr. President.
[0:03] I'm meeting with Scali and Kissinger in a couple of minutes.
[0:07] Do you want to come down?
[0:09] Are you free or what are you doing?
[0:10] Fine, I'll come right over.
[0:10] Wait a minute, where are you now?
[0:12] I'm in my office just meeting with somebody.
[0:14] No, sir, just cleaning up some paperwork.
[0:16] Fine, fine, fine.
[0:17] Okay.
[0:18] Okay.
[0:20] Or do you want me to see him alone?
[0:23] Well, I suggested Kissinger come in.
[0:25] I don't think it matters whether I'm there, but I think it's important that... Well, Kissinger, I'm going to lay right into it.
[0:33] I only thought that...
[0:35] Well, maybe not.
[0:35] Maybe you might pass it this time.
[0:37] You had long talks with him before.
[0:39] Oh, I've been working with John.
[0:40] I had John in here...
[0:41] He's in good shape.
[0:42] ...almost all day yesterday, sort of getting him adjusted to the system, and I will be working closely with him.
[0:48] I felt on this meeting, Mr. President, and I expressed myself this morning that the great value that...
[0:55] would be for you to get these two fellows sort of tracking together, because there'll be a normal tendency for a little rivalry there.
[1:01] I know, I know.
[1:02] I'll talk to them alone.
[1:04] I'll talk to them alone.
[1:04] I think there's value in that.
[1:05] Yeah, I'll do that.
[1:07] Fine, fine.
[1:07] Anything else from your shop?
[1:10] I might just report to you, Mr. President, that Harris did start the polling when he said he would.
[1:14] He started last Thursday.
[1:16] Still polling.
[1:17] His people are through in the field tonight, and their data starts flowing back in.
[1:21] We'll have a
[1:22] feel on the Harris figures this weekend.
[1:24] But you gave him ours, did you?
[1:26] Gave him yours.
[1:26] I gave him the ORC figures, which he said he felt the trend would be up.
[1:34] He wasn't surprised by the ORC figures.
[1:36] That's good.
[1:39] And we'll see how he comes out.
[1:40] He's...
[1:42] But you told him, so he knows we're watching.
[1:46] Oh, yes.
[1:46] Well, after all, RORC was published, too.
[1:49] That's right.
[1:49] Keeps him a little bit honest.
[1:50] He had seen that, and then we discussed it in detail.
[1:53] He told me that he would call me over the weekend with his raw data and review it with me.
[1:58] And what he will do is put...
[2:01] that in the mail next tuesday for yeah uh the following monday's news stories so we get the story on that one would come out two weeks from yesterday and i think it'll be good if it isn't an uptick i think i can talk about it publishing it okay so we'll we'll stay on that i also might report to you because you asked me about it yeah we've got the pow wives coming in and uh good
[2:26] Don Hughes has been doing a good job with these girls.
[2:29] I know, I know.
[2:30] They did have a meeting with Kissinger, and it didn't come off quite as well as they would have liked, so we're going to... What did?
[2:36] Well, I think they got the feeling that he wasn't... Don can really relate to them, and...
[2:42] Then maybe you don't want, well, on the other hand... No, I think what I, I think the...
[2:47] It'd be better.
[2:48] I think it should be done, but Hughes, I'm arranging to have Hughes and Kissinger sort of do it together, and John is good at the hand-holding, and Henry can... Yeah, he was too blunt with him.
[2:57] A little bit.
[2:57] Mm-hmm.
[2:59] But I'll see that that comes about this week.
[3:02] Yeah.
[3:02] Okay, fine.
[3:03] Good, good.
[3:04] Thank you, Mr. President.