Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 001-119
Date: Friday, April 16, 1971 at 11:22 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-119

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[3:54:52] Dr. Kissinger is present.
[3:54:56] Mr. President.
[3:54:57] Henry, the one point that may turn into a minor lead, not a big lead, but...
[3:55:05] In fact, when I spoke about the children, I said, well, you know, I hope that they can go to China someday.
[3:55:12] Yeah.
[3:55:13] And that I hope that I could go someday, you know.
[3:55:15] You know.
[3:55:16] That doesn't bother you, does it?
[3:55:17] It doesn't bother me, but it might just madly turn out that they'll get invited to spend their honeymoon there.
[3:55:25] Be great.
[3:55:26] But I think we didn't overplay it, did we?
[3:55:29] No, no, no, no.
[3:55:30] That was a general thing.
[3:55:33] Oh, not at all.
[3:55:34] That, in fact, I thought was a nice human touch.
[3:55:36] Yeah, this is really true, you know.
[3:55:38] When I spoke to these kids at Easter and I said, you know, I hope that in your time you'll be able to go to China, and I want our policies to be one that will make it possible, you know.
[3:55:49] This is really quite moving to the younger generation, isn't it?
[3:55:53] Oh, yes.
[3:55:53] Well, it's moving to the older generation.
[3:55:56] I mean, the sense of people eager to go back to China is just unbelievable.
[3:56:02] yeah yeah no i thought that was better to touch him in fact well we shall see but uh in handling your uh press guys just be sure that you point out that
[3:56:15] The President was only speaking in terms of hopes and not in terms of... And that I'd heard you say that many times before.
[3:56:23] That I want to go and I want my kids to go and I hope this world will be one where everybody can visit all parts of the world and all that sort of business, you know?
[3:56:31] Oh, yes.
[3:56:32] Yeah.
[3:56:33] Oh, I think we can do that.
[3:56:34] That is not at all the problem, Mr. President.
[3:56:37] In fact, I thought that was a great plug.
[3:56:40] It gave it a human touch.
[3:56:42] Yeah, good.
[3:56:43] Hilsberg thought what you said about the barbaric treatment of the prisoners would be the big headline, or a big headline.
[3:56:49] Well, it was a, it is barbaric.
[3:56:52] But I thought that that's exactly what you wanted.
[3:56:54] And you notice what I said, that, you know, I said unless both the prisoners and the ability of South Vietnam to defend itself were...
[3:57:06] attained that we would continue to maintain a residual force.
[3:57:10] Well, I thought that was a masterpiece.
[3:57:12] Because it's true.
[3:57:15] And it took lead off the hook, too, you see.
[3:57:17] Well, all I can tell you is that I've received no indication of doubt in the mood.
[3:57:24] What's his view?
[3:57:25] We got them on the run.
[3:57:26] All he wants now is a free election in October.
[3:57:30] Free election?
[3:57:31] Oh, shit.
[3:57:31] There's no problem on that.
[3:57:32] Exactly.
[3:57:33] All right.
[3:57:36] It's got him worried, huh?
[3:57:43] I would sort of tell him, look, Adlai, there's a lot of things going on here that your father was interested in, the President, Rudy's interested in the same things, and now look, let's lead toward this direction, you know?
[3:57:56] Because, you know, really,
[3:57:58] We make the breakthrough in China.
[3:58:00] This is the biggest thing that's ever happened in, you know, 20 years, Henry.
[3:58:04] That's a historic turning point, Mr. President.
[3:58:06] That's right.
[3:58:07] They all know it, don't they?
[3:58:08] Oh, no question.
[3:58:09] Not a question.
[3:58:10] It worries them, but we won't get any credit.
[3:58:12] But who knows?
[3:58:14] Oh, you'll get credit.
[3:58:15] On this, you've gotten full credit.
[3:58:17] The first time.
[3:58:18] Do you think so?
[3:58:19] Oh, yes.
[3:58:21] Well, they know it couldn't have come from anyone else.
[3:58:23] No one else had ever talked over it.
[3:58:26] All right.
[3:58:28] As a matter of fact, you and I know that without our leadership, nothing would have happened here.
[3:58:35] Nobody else in it, no dove could have done this.
[3:58:38] Absolutely.
[3:58:38] Hubert couldn't have done it.
[3:58:39] No one could have done it politically, and no one could have done it within the bureaucracy because they didn't want to do it.
[3:58:45] That's right.
[3:58:46] That's right.
[3:58:47] Well, get State, be sure State backs us up on this all the way now.
[3:58:51] I've got them pretty well under control this way.
[3:58:53] Right.
[3:58:56] And be sure that Laird knows I defended him on this, too.
[3:58:59] I said, you know...
[3:59:00] I've already called the Mr. President.
[3:59:01] Is he all right?
[3:59:02] He's fine.
[3:59:04] Yeah, because, you know, I said, well, his position is exactly right.
[3:59:07] See, I didn't, I kept the residual force, I kept the air power, you know, I hit that hard that we're going to have it there as long as we need it.
[3:59:17] And also in Thailand, where they said, well, now you're going to keep that.
[3:59:20] I said, well, we have other reasons to keep people in Thailand, right?
[3:59:23] Absolutely.
[3:59:24] I thought the foreign policy part, I'm only not talking about the domestic part because I don't know that so well.
[3:59:30] I thought it was beautifully handled.
[3:59:32] I will.
[3:59:36] Tell Adlai that, look, let's, we all are now in the same boat.
[3:59:43] Let's try to do the things that your father, his father, is interested in.
[3:59:49] One world, all that jazz, huh?
[3:59:51] Okay, tell him that that's what I said to him, okay, will you?
[3:59:56] And that I, of course, as you notice, I came out strongly against the business of the Army, uh,
[4:00:04] In the 68th Democratic Convention, you know, I said, we stopped it.
[4:00:09] See?
[4:00:09] I noticed that.
[4:00:10] Right.
[4:00:10] And it was very effective.
[4:00:13] Okay.
[4:00:13] Fine, Henry.
[4:00:15] Bye.