Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 1 › Conversation 001-098

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Stock Market and Economic Policy

Thursday, April 15, 1971 · 7:26 PM–7:29 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation001-098 on Tape 1 (tape position 03:20:17–03:23:22)StartThursday, April 15, 1971 at 7:26 PMEndThursday, April 15, 1971 at 7:29 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-098 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the historic performance of the stock market and the strategic value of meeting with key financial industry leaders to signal economic confidence. Nixon instructs Haldeman to expand a proposed meeting with Bernard Lasker into a larger gathering of influential Wall Street figures, such as Gustave Levy and Donald Regan, to maximize the political impact. The President emphasizes that a broader group of “real wheels” would better project national buoyancy than a solitary meeting with a single associate.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Mr. Halderman?
Yes, sir.
Yeah.
I think we might as well go ahead with that Lasker thing if they want to come down because... Yeah, you got another five points today.
Yeah, the Dow really took a... That's a hell of a big wallop, too, you know.
They do want to.
They've got a... You see it's 938 now?
Yeah.
938.
938.17.
Which is a...
This is a goddamned bull market in history.
Now, if it goes down a mark, it doesn't make any difference.
During the day, it had been up eight points, over eight points.
I know, but just five...
Listen, close to 5.62.
Yeah.
What was the volume?
Uh, it's irrelevant.
I don't have it.
Nevertheless, the point is, though, that let's strike it while it's hot.
And I think it's an expression of confidence.
And if it drops tomorrow, it's all right.
I mean, it's going to take a little posture, but this story will override the drop.
Yeah, see?
Yeah.
They've got a basic statistic that's unassailable on the greatest bull market.
I think it's this quarter is the greatest bull quarter in the history of that market.
I tried.
Well, they can also point out that I advise this.
Oh, yeah.
And also, don't just take the time I did it publicly, but the time that I told them in the bowels of the White House when it was 631.
I also told them to buy then, you know, when Izzy Cohen took me on.
You remember?
Right.
Get down a good group, though.
Get down the real wheels.
Well, tell Pete not just to... Oh, what do you want to do?
Just have Lasker?
Yeah.
Oh, God, well...
They thought they'd get into a... Well, we can...
I think you ought to...
I mean, I'd get people like Howard Stein, people like...
I mean, Christ, I'd build the goddamn thing up.
Okay.
But what good does it do is just to give it to Bunny?
I mean, Pete is always thinking about, I'm sure, that, well, it may be a nice thing for Bunny.
Shit, we don't care what Bunny does.
No, no, he's not... You see what I mean?
Yeah.
me find out what the reason why not but that their thought what we'd originally talked about was getting you know four or five of them the big wheels down and now you just want to do bunny lasker alone that's what they have now yeah all right it's okay just have him alone that's fine well let's see it maybe maybe you can't get the others but if if a whole group could come back it might give more of a feeling of
you know, buoyancy than it does with this bunny coming in, an old friend, a Republican, and going out now as a, you see what I mean?
Yeah.
I just think, I mean, you could get Gus Levy, he'd love it.
Just think what it's going to mean to some of those.
Pete's got to think a little of that sort of thing, Bob.
Right.
See, what is it going to mean to some of the others?
Just Gus Levy.
Some of these baggage that have been, you know, it would mean a hell of a lot.
And get Reagan back again.
Yeah.
Get the big six or eight or ten or the members of the
Not the members of the board, but the board aren't worth a damn.
They're just the biggest dealers.
And if you have them come down and say, gee, Mr. President, you're really something.
Tell Pete to think more in those terms, a little bit more, rather than just having this sad-ass picture of me and money, you know, shaking hands and getting a bowl.
Okay.
Okay.
Right.

NARA Description

On April 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:26 pm to 7:29 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-098 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 1-98

Date: April 15, 1971
Time: 7:26 pm - 7:29 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Meeting with securities leaders
          -Bernard J. (“Bunny”) Lasker

     Stock Market
          -Rise, volume
          -Confidence
          -"Izzy" Cohen [sp?]

     Haldeman's meeting with securities leaders
          -Lasker
          -Howard Stein
          -Gustave L. Levy
          -Donald T. Regan
          -Peter M. Flanigan

Also recorded on April 16, 1971

  • 001-099 7:30 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:30 pm.
  • 001-100 7:31 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:31 pm.
  • 001-101 7:31 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:31 pm and 7:33 pm.
  • 001-102 7:42 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:47 pm.
  • 001-103 7:42 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:42 pm and 7:47 pm.
  • 001-104 7:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 7:47 pm to 7:48 pm.
  • 001-105 7:49 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 7:49 pm to 7:53 pm.
  • 001-097 8:17 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 8:17 pm to 8:18 pm.

All 51 conversations from April 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 001-098, April 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-098 (accessed October 12, 2026).