Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-032

Nixon phone call with Connally on Supersonic Transport and Senate lobbying

Wednesday, May 12, 1971 · 5:41 PM–5:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.Conversation003-032 on Tape 3 (tape position 00:32:45–00:37:18)StartWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 5:41 PMEndWednesday, May 12, 1971 at 5:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John B. Connally discuss strategy for securing a Senate victory for the Supersonic Transport (SST) project following a successful vote in the House. They identify key senators to target for persuasion, including those influenced by public works funding and the aerospace industry. Nixon and Connally commit to personally lobbying specific legislators to secure the three additional votes needed to pass the measure.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Yes, sir.
Well, we won it over there.
Isn't that great?
Yeah, I thought you'd be pleased.
And we now, of course, have got to start working the Senate.
It's going to be a very long shot there.
Yes, sir.
But I don't know.
I've got to call in the meanie, but he's out.
He's in Georgia, and I don't know where to get him.
But I just think if we could possibly turn a couple of those guys, it could make it.
But beyond that, even if the Senate, which is probably the likely course of events, does not go with the House, there is a conference.
And in that conference, you're going to get something.
Yes, sir.
You've got to get something.
But I think it's just good for our morale, don't you, to win one?
Oh, no question about it.
I think we ought to give it a run in the Senate, and I'm not sure we can do it, but I'll personally go to work on it and see if we can.
Well, the basic, the guys that I think, I'm going to try to take a whack at Cooper.
Let me tell you how you can turn some, I think, whether you want to pay the price or not.
The thing that has most of these people upset, and God, I talk about it.
Withheld funds?
Yes, sir, on public works.
Right.
Public works withheld funds.
Right.
Right, right.
God, I've talked to Ellender.
I've talked to Long.
Every time I call them, that's all they want to talk about.
Yeah, provided the ones that it's withheld from are the ones whose votes we need.
Well, that's right.
And I haven't analyzed it, so I don't know.
That may not be.
All right.
Whatever the price is, we'll pay it.
Well, I think you ought to have somebody look at it.
That's right.
I really think if you can, anyway, you ought to release those public funds because it puts you in an impossible position to try to defend, hold them up when we're looking for jobs.
That's right.
That's right.
you know, everything in the world.
Right.
Yeah, yeah.
You're going to see Daley tomorrow, aren't you?
Yes, sir.
Yeah, I am.
Well, he'd probably help in the Senate much, though.
No, I don't think so.
But I'll tell you the ones, really.
Gambrow, I'll tell you,
The new senator from Florida, I don't know who's got a handle on him, but he ought to shift because of Lockheed.
Gambrel ought to shift because of Lockheed.
I tell you what, if you could tell the Lockheed people, they ought to get to Gambrel immediately and the new senator from Florida.
And it's cold turkey.
Frankly, John, I'll cool off on Lockheed if they don't come along.
I understand.
Do you understand?
Yes.
And they ought to know this.
Well, Gambrell's father, Vice Gambrell... Farmer head of the bar.
Farmer head of the bar and has been general counsel for Eastern Airlines for 30 years.
Yes.
So Eastern's got a slight interest.
Well, there's another thing you can say, too, on this one.
It is a different situation, see, now than it was.
And, I mean, in order, you see, these guys have got to have a basis for changing.
Well, the financial situation is different.
It isn't as much money.
And you can make a commitment that the president's going to take another look at it next year, and then it's going to cost him more money.
But if Gambrell would shift, and then you get Cooper, you're within the ballpark.
You see, if you shift two, then getting one more.
I can talk to Lawton Childs.
from Florida, and I can talk to Gambrell, and I will do it.
But try the two, because the main thing is to talk to them before they...
The thing is, if you could talk to them before they get frozen up, and say, don't make a decision until we have a chance to talk to you, that this is terribly important.
The other one is, I don't know, can we do anything with Benston?
No, I'm going to talk to him.
I just really think that for the national interest, he ought to now, in view of the fact that the House has acted, why does he want to obstruct you?
That's the way you could, you know, he's a good citizen.
He sure is, and I want to really talk to him.
He's voted that way once now.
Yes, he's made his point.
He's made his point, and he could say, well, now, under the circumstances, the House has acted, and we're going to have something, and this looks like the... And I'll work on Cooper, and there's one other one, and that's Clint Anderson, but I think Clint...
I think Jackson's got to handle him.
I'll try Cooper, and I'll try... Well, I can help on clamp.
Can you?
Good.
All right.
Well, those are the names.
Those are the only ones I can think of that'll shift.
Out of that group, if you get three out of those, we'll make it.
So we only need three to change.
Yeah, I know it.
Because we got the chair.
Right.
See, a three is a tie.
Right.
Right.
But really, it looks like a different day.
It sure does, and I think it's just wonderful.
I really do.
It changes the psychology a little, too.
Oh, of course it does.
Right.
I just think it's great.
Great.
All right.
Okay.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On May 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 5:41 pm to 5:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-032

Date: May 12, 1971
Time: 5:41 pm - 5:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John B. Connally.

[See Conversation No. 499-002E/498-001E]

     Supersonic transport [SST] vote
          -House vote
          -Upcoming Senate vote
               -George Meany's role
          -House-Senate conference action
          -Effect on administration morale
          -Upcoming Senate vote
               -Connally's role
               -John Sherman Cooper
                     -President's role
               -Public works funds
                     -Allen J. Ellender
                     -Russell B. Long
                     -President's action
               -President's May 13, 1971 meeting with Richard J. Daley
               -David H. Gambrell and Lawton M. Chiles, Jr.
                     -Lockheed
                     -Mike Gambrell
                           -Identified
                           -Eastern Airlines
               -Gambrell, Cooper
               -Connally's role
                     -Chiles and D. Gambrell

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

                       -Alan Cranston and John V. Tunney
                 -Commitments
                 -Lloyd Bentsen
                       -Connally's forthcoming call
                       -Position
                 -Cooper
                       -President's role
                 -Clinton P. Anderson
                       -Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson's role
                 -Cooper
                       -President's role
                 -Anderson
                       -Connally's role
                 -Number needed

Also recorded on May 12, 1971

  • 003-027 5:32 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Frank T. Bow talked on the telephone from 5:32 pm to 5:33 pm.
  • 498-001 5:33 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Frank T. Bow, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, John B. Connally, and Wilbur D. Mills met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:33 pm and 6:03 pm.
  • 003-028 5:34 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Edward P. Boland talked on the telephone from 5:34 pm to 5:36 pm.
  • 003-030 5:37 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:41 pm.
  • 003-031 5:37 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:37 pm and 5:41 pm.
  • 003-033 5:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Wilbur D. Mills talked on the telephone from 5:45 pm to 5:48 pm.
  • 003-034 5:48 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:48 pm and 5:52 pm.
  • 003-035 5:52 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:52 pm.

All 37 conversations from May 12, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-032, May 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-032 (accessed September 28, 2026).