Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 003-016
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 1971 at 3:56 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.; Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-016

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello Mr. President.
[0:02] Bill, did you talk to George Shultz about that new GNP figure yet?
[0:06] No, I didn't.
[0:08] Do you know about it?
[0:09] No, I don't.
[0:13] Well, the Department of Commerce, you know, the first figure we had of that 28.5,
[0:25] was preliminary.
[0:27] Well, they've just done the revised figure, and it's 30.8 for the first quarter, a 2.3 bump.
[0:34] And George thinks that when they have the third revised, which, of course, will come when they get all the figures in, it'll be even higher.
[0:40] Point is, you see, the first figure did not reflect enough of March.
[0:44] They took January and February and, you know, spread it out, and March was a much stronger month, see?
[0:50] So your 30.8 is, well, it isn't up to the 33 that...
[0:55] It's really within the ballpark, you see.
[0:58] Now, I've talked to him, and I want you to drop over to his place, because I told him to talk to you, and he's probably been in meetings all day.
[1:05] Here's what I have in mind.
[1:07] First of all, it is not to be released until Friday.
[1:14] And I learned the figure yesterday, and I said to him, now look here, they ought to release it.
[1:20] They can't sit in the figure this long.
[1:21] Second point,
[1:23] I agree on this point.
[1:27] I don't think we ought to try to get around and trumpet it, you know, and this and that and the other thing, because I think it speaks for itself quite loudly.
[1:34] On the other hand, it is one of those things where...
[1:39] Any individual who can be absolutely trusted and that we know on the economic side should sort of pick it up.
[1:47] It will not go unnoticed.
[1:49] Now, the other thing is that it's particularly important that it get in the news magazines, see.
[1:55] Now, coming out Friday and so forth, and I think a little leakage to the two news magazines on Thursday,
[2:01] you know, might start humping and thinking and so forth.
[2:05] Oh, and U.S. News.
[2:06] Oh, Bob Holliman's sitting here, and he says U.S. News closes, of course, Thursday or Friday.
[2:10] So what I'd like for you to do is to jump up over there and have a talk with George.
[2:15] Right.
[2:16] And do some thinking about...
[2:18] how it ought to be, how we can get it out best and get the biggest, you know, I mean, it should not be, I think the way to do it when you've got, I mean, when the news is really good is not to brag too much about it.
[2:31] Well, in other words, to handle it with some subtlety to make sure.
[2:33] Some subtleties that will hypo it, you see, because this is a, this isn't sensational, but it's very good.
[2:42] I mean, when you go, you're finally, remember, that was a number we were hoping we'd get in the first instance was 30.
[2:47] And 30.8 is up there in a pretty good number.
[2:52] It makes that 1065 look a lot better.
[2:55] It looks possible, that's right.
[2:57] And he thinks it'll be up over 32 in the end.
[3:04] But there it is.
[3:04] And it might be.
[3:08] Now, the only problem that I see, I was even thinking of one like this, the Inspired League thing.
[3:14] The difficulty with that is that we've got other kinds of figures of this sort that we
[3:19] do not want to use its pirate leaks on, you know what I mean?
[3:22] So I don't know that's it, but I do think that the little conversation with regard to getting it around, when you get the solid figure, the people that, you know the types of people I'm talking about.
[3:33] There's U.S. News, there's Time, there's Newsweek.
[3:36] You might talk to Scully, see what, well, for example, there's one I know you can get a good ride on.
[3:43] You know, they've got that fellow Rukeyser.
[3:45] Right, ABC.
[3:45] ABC, who's our friend.
[3:47] Right.
[3:47] He'll ride it like hell, but if he just gets it today, you know, if you tell him Thursday in advance, you'll get ready and put out a little story on it.
[3:55] Do it on the air on Thursday night?
[3:57] Yeah.
[3:58] Well, I don't think we can leak it out in advance.
[4:01] No, but I mean, he'll do it on the air Friday night.
[4:03] Well, see, I mean, what it means, this is something that requires a lot of thinking.
[4:08] The guy just goes on and says, well, the GNP is 30.8.
[4:11] What I meant is it's giving these guys a day's advance to think about it to get it out, I think, as an advantage.
[4:17] But I'm not sure about all that.
[4:18] You use your judgment, but you talk to George and then work up whatever plan you think is right.
[4:26] Will you do that?
[4:26] I'll do that.
[4:27] Okay.