Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-004

Nixon phone call with Rogers on Middle East diplomacy and George Meany

Monday, April 19, 1971 · 6:50 PM–6:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rogers, William P.Conversation002-004 on Tape 2 (tape position 00:02:07–00:07:00)StartMonday, April 19, 1971 at 6:50 PMEndMonday, April 19, 1971 at 6:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-004 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417187975 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Secretary of State William P. Rogers discuss a proposed diplomatic tour of the Middle East, which would follow Rogers' scheduled attendance at SEATO and CENTO meetings in London and Ankara. Nixon encourages the trip, noting its potential to shift media focus away from Vietnam and capitalize on invitations from Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. Additionally, the two touch upon labor relations, specifically regarding Nixon’s recent outreach to George Meany and building trades leaders, as well as the positive impact of the President's recent China initiative on public discourse.

Audio

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NARA Description

On April 19, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 6:50 pm to 6:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-4

Date: April 19, 1971
Time: 6:50 pm - 6:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with William P. Rogers.

     Rogers’ trip
         -Spain

     Rogers' schedule
          -Southeast Asia Treaty Organization [SEATO] meeting
                -London
          -Central Treaty Organization [CENTO] meeting
                -Ankara, Turkey
     -Middle East visit
          -Risks
          -Benefits
          -Egypt
                -John Foster Dulles
          -Press coverage
          -Israel
          -Egypt
          -Jordan
          -Lebanon

           -Saudi Arabia
           -Rogers’ statement
           -George Meany

     President's meeting with building trades leaders
           -Davis-Bacon Act
           -Meany
           -Support for President

     Labor attaches
          -Meany

     Rogers’ schedule
         -George P. Delaney
         -Meany

     President's People's Republic of China [PRC] initiative
           -Liberal reaction

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. President.
Well, welcome back.
Thank you very much.
How's your Spanish?
Well, it worked out very well.
Great.
We had a pretty good meeting.
It is a nice little city, isn't it?
Oh, it's lovely.
And everything worked out very well.
The reason I'm troubling you now, as you may know, I'm going to have to go to the CETO meeting in London and the CENTO meeting in Ankara next week.
I've been thinking for some time, and if...
been asked by Israel, Egypt, and Jordan to visit their countries.
I would like to at least have serious consideration given to it.
So what I'm calling about is to see if you have any initial reaction that would be opposed to it.
I would just go from Ankara to these places after that.
Maybe about another week.
And I think that it has some risks.
But I also think it has some pretty good positive elements.
Particularly because I've been invited.
You've been invited to Egypt, too.
Yes.
And no Secretary of State has been there since Teller's win.
And it will get a lot of attention.
It will take Vietnam off the front page for a while, I think.
Hell, yes.
Well, I think... Well, it also will...
even though the mid-east thing is tough for us uh you know we don't know what's going to happen at least puts attention on that that's right and uh and frankly nothing really can happen there they just can't happen that's all no it isn't going to happen right now i don't think and if it's if it's going to happen it's going to happen anyway so i don't believe that i'll be blamed for it and i think i'll get a pretty good reception and well i know i've got a great reception in israel probably a pretty good reception in egypt
Now, I may have some security problems in Jordan.
I probably will go to Lebanon and maybe just a quick stop in Saudi Arabia.
I do them.
Personally, I think you should certainly do Saudi Arabia.
If there's any security problem, I don't think you ought to go.
Egypt, they'll protect you.
Yeah.
The only security problem would be in Jordan, I think.
But what the hell?
That's part of the job.
Where would you go in Jordan?
Just Amman.
I've never been there.
Just to see the king.
I'd go and get the tank.
I feel that you've got to decide.
If you think it's a good idea, you go.
I won't make a decision until we check it out pretty carefully.
But I didn't want to do it if you saw any... Not at all.
I think it's a very good thing to...
Sort of put the spotlight of attention out there.
And if something could come out of it, it would be great.
Well, we may, you know, something may come out of it.
Right.
Well, you can't tell.
And I'll downplay the importance of it in my background as to say that it's a trip for the purpose of touching base in these areas.
Yeah.
Just talking with this matter over and so forth.
In response to an invitation by all of them.
See, it's the first time that the president of Egypt has asked her.
Have you ever been to Israel?
No.
the food's lousy, but otherwise it's all right.
I've got to go to a party that George Meany is having right now.
Anything you want me to tell him?
Well, I met with the building trades leaders today, told them we were all for them.
That was going to be a big, I said, I know you were displeased with Dave's bacon, but now we've rescinded that and it's going to be a big year.
Construction's going up, market's going up, everything's going up.
You guys just got to be reasonable and you'll get a big piece of it.
And I also told them this, I said, I know that
Some people said, well, we shouldn't meet with you because you disagreed with what we did on this.
But I said, I will always be grateful that when many others were deserting, that the building trades, the hardhats, and George Meany, you stood firmly with us in foreign policy.
And for that reason, whatever you say on other things, you're always welcome here.
And that made a great impression on him.
And George knows that, too.
He knows I had him to breakfast even after he blasted us.
Do you remember the meeting we had about improving our
labor attacks.
I know.
I got the memorandum on it from you.
Well, that's part of the reason we're getting rid of the old fellow we have here, and we're putting in a new man, and I'm going to talk to George about a new man.
And tell him that he did it.
Of course I will.
Where is your meeting?
You're going to the building trades meeting.
Well, I'm just going to the beginning.
Well, it's a meeting, really.
No, it's a meeting for George Delaney.
The fellow was here, but they'll have a lot of their late people there.
George Delaney's having a meeting for him.
Right, right, right.
I'm just going for the cocktails.
Right.
Well, you know, one thing that's amusing is that
to me is that the way that China thing really got our liberal friends all up in a tizzy.
It shows you how they react to anything.
It doesn't have to mean a thing.
That's right.
It does demonstrate what we talked about last time, how you get a lot of credit for very little.
That's right.
Okay.
Well, good luck.
Thank you.
Bye.

Also recorded on April 19, 1971

  • 054-001 5:05 PM · 57 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the executive council of the AFL-CIO Building and Construction Trades, including Charles D. Aquandro, Frank A. Bonadio, Harold J. Buoy, Edward F. Carlough, Peter Fosco, Robert A. Georgine, Maurice A. Hutcheson, Albert E. Hutchinson, John H. ("Jack") Lyons, Thomas F. Murphy, William Peitler, Charles H. Pillard, Joseph T. Power, S. Frank Raftery, Joseph P. Ricciarelli, Peter T. Shoeman, Louis Sherman, Hunter P. Wharton, Richard W. Williams, James D. Hodgson, Willie J. Usery, Jr., Henry A. Kissinger, Charles W. Colson, the White House photographers, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:03 pm.
  • 482-025 6:09 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:09 pm to 6:11 pm.
  • 482-026 6:12 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 6:12 pm.
  • 482-027 6:12 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:12 pm to 6:32 pm.
  • 002-003 6:32 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:32 pm and 6:50 pm.
  • 482-028 6:32 PM · 47 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:32 pm and 9:24 pm.
  • 002-005 6:56 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:56 pm and 7:24 pm.
  • 002-006 7:24 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:24 pm to 7:26 pm.

All 28 conversations from April 19, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-004, April 19, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417187975). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-004 (accessed November 3, 2026).