Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-072

Nixon phone call with Connally on Vietnam War and POWs

Thursday, April 29, 1971 · 11:04 PM–11:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.Conversation002-072 on Tape 2 (tape position 02:46:27–02:53:52)StartThursday, April 29, 1971 at 11:04 PMEndThursday, April 29, 1971 at 11:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-072 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John B. Connally discussed Connally’s recent public speaking engagements and shared perspectives on managing criticism, including reaction from political cartoonist Herblock. The conversation transitioned to the administration’s Vietnam strategy, where Nixon emphasized his commitment to ending the war while simultaneously asserting his resolve to utilize air power against North Vietnam if negotiations fail to secure the release of prisoners of war. Additionally, the President encouraged Connally to attend the upcoming opening of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library to maintain a bipartisan appearance regarding the history of the war.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 15% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Okay.
Hello?
Hello, John?
Are you in Texas?
Good, good.
Oh, well, that's great.
Well, you did a...
I thought you did a marvelous job before the chamber as Haldeman passed on to you.
By God, you really took him on and you did...
elegant way.
And the other thing that made me think you would really come across as that son of a bitch, Herblock finally took notice of you.
It didn't take him long either, did it?
Didn't you enjoy it, though?
Oh, yeah, he did.
Let me tell you this.
If Nellie worries, tell her that Herb Locke took me on 23 years ago in his case, and he's been against me ever since.
And when he took you on, I said, by God, Conley's my man.
You thought I was like, well, they didn't give me some of the opportunities I wanted, and I'd like to pick them a little more, but I thought I ought to be a little bit, you know, presidential here.
Yeah.
That's a terrible question, though.
No, they didn't ask about the economy.
They didn't ask about...
And they did, you know, I was really loaded for them.
The pastors never asked a question.
That's all.
That's all.
But do you think I was too easy on them?
Ha, ha, ha.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, of course, yeah.
Well... Yeah.
Sure.
Tell me, uh, how are things in Texas?
No, no rain.
Goddamn.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I'm going out, John, to do...
I thought, by God, I ought to welcome the 1st Marine Division back.
You know, after all, damn it, we've heard all these...
I mean, there are a few guys that are here bitching about the war.
We understand that.
But these guys have served their country.
They have helped the South Vietnamese.
They've contributed their money.
They've raised the little kids.
By God, the country ought to know that.
Don't you think so?
I've got to come back because they may, these demonstrators, incidentally.
Will you be back Monday?
No, sir, unless you want me to.
Oh, God, no, don't come.
Let me say, stay, let me say.
Yeah.
I know you told me about that.
That's wonderful.
I wish I could come.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, good.
Look, you can have an enormous effect on them, John, if you just talk positive, but you will.
But if the war comes up, you can just say, look, the president has a plan.
He's working it out.
The war's going to end.
Now, what do you guys got?
You know, don't you really think that's true?
And the idea of setting a date is so ridiculous.
Yeah.
Why do we tell the enemy, we're going to get out regardless of what you do?
The hell with them.
And also on the POWs, by God, I think the idea that we're going to have a man in Vietnam as long as they've got a man in North Vietnam.
Well, that's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Oh, yeah, you'll slip.
Hell, I know you will.
Well, anyway.
Well, you were good, and you're good to call.
And let me say, I want you and Nellie to know, you work so damn hard now.
You take a little time off now.
You understand what I mean?
And, oh, incidentally, on the LBJ library...
I'm going to fly in from Florida because I'm going to be in Florida at the time.
But I want you to be sure.
See, Agnew is going to take the plane down from here.
I want you to be sure and go.
And if there's any people that want to go, we'll put on another plane.
You know what I mean?
Yes, sir.
Because I think it's very important that that gets a bus.
You notice the night where Sarah asked the question.
I said, now then, we're not going to blame Kennedy.
And we're not going to blame Johnson.
Don't you agree?
Yes, sir.
That was very wise of Johnson.
Well, it's true, God darn it.
You know, we disagree with what they did with some of them, but on the other hand, how can you blame two men who tried to do their best for the war?
Hell, the war is there.
Damn, damn right.
Just one thing I want to tell you that I'm sure you will do it.
Uh...
We've got about two or three more months until we'll haggle around with negotiations.
But if these problems, then, when we are cleared down to 184,000, and they refuse to negotiate, then, John, I intend to turn loose the Air Force.
We're going to bomb every military target in North Vietnam until they turn loose those things.
Do you agree to that?
Yes.
We've got to do it.
That's what we're planning to do.
I don't want to threaten, but we're going to do it.
Okay.
All right.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:04 pm to 11:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-072 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-72

Date: April 29,1971
Time: 11:04 pm - 11:11 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John B. Connally.

     Connally's speech to Houston Chamber of Commerce
         -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
         -Herbert L. Block
         -Idanell (Brill) (“Nellie”) Connally
         -Alger Hiss case

     President's press conference
           -Comments of unknown woman
                 -Jonathan C. Rose
           -Questions
           -Vietnam
           -Domestic issues
           -People’s Republic of China [PRC
           -Demonstrators
           -Rose
           -Reaction
                                                                                               Back to Top

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

     Texas drought
          -Climate
          -Economic conditions

     President's schedule

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared under court order from
December 1978 through March 1979 for Special Access 8, Ronald V. Dellums, et al. v. James M.
Powell, et al., No. 71-2271. The National Archives and Records Administration produced this
transcript. The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

     Connally's schedule
         -Meeting with corporate executives
                -Hedley W. Donovan

     Vietnam

     Administration's policy
         -Prisoners of war [POWs]

     Connally's meeting with corporate executives
         -Donovan

     President's press conference

     Lyndon B. Johnson Library
         -Connally
         -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew

     President's press conference
           -Vietnam
                 -Sarah McLendon
                 -John F. Kennedy and Johnson
           -President's military options
                 -Vietnam

                                                                                               Back to Top

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on April 30, 1971

  • 002-064 10:31 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:31 pm.
  • 002-065 10:36 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 10:36 pm to 10:39 pm.
  • 002-066 10:39 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Marjorie P. Acker talked on the telephone from 10:39 pm to 10:40 pm.
  • 002-067 10:40 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 10:40 pm to 10:49 pm.
  • 002-068 10:50 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-069 10:50 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-070 10:50 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:50 pm and 10:57 pm.
  • 002-071 10:57 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 10:57 pm to 11:03 pm.

All 14 conversations from April 30, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-072, April 30, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-072 (accessed October 12, 2026).