Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 4 › Conversation 004-012
Nixon phone call with Connally on Press relations and Revenue sharing
Tuesday, June 1, 1971 · 10:10 PM–10:16 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Treasury Secretary John B. Connally reviewed the President’s recent press conference, agreeing that the press corps’ aggressive questioning highlighted media bias to the American public. They expressed frustration that the media ignored key domestic issues such as the economy and revenue sharing, despite Nixon being fully prepared to address them. The conversation concluded with Nixon providing strategic advice to Connally regarding his upcoming appearance before Representative Wilbur D. Mills to advocate for revenue sharing legislation.
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Transcript (AI-generated)
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Not one question on revenue sharing.
Not one on the environment.
Not one on parks.
Not one on
I'm on the economy, really.
On the economy?
No, no, they didn't really ask about that.
These guys, I'm glad they badgered me on the Washington police because, boy, that's our issue.
It really is, and I thought you handled it exceptionally well.
I think there was one particular thing I noticed tonight.
I thought you were more relaxed.
I noticed you were using the podium, which might account for some of it.
But you were...
You were much more, or appeared to be much more relaxed in your facial expressions, which I thought was extremely good.
There was a time or two when you, or at least I read into your facial expressions, disgust almost, at some of the questions.
But most of the time, you were smiling, you were relaxed, and I don't think the disgust that I read into it was bad.
I think it was good.
Sometimes you've got to be a little disgusted.
Well, no question about it.
And I think the...
One of the principal advantages of these press conferences like this, the average person has to see how antagonistic this press is.
Isn't it something, though?
It really is unbelievable.
I think the only question that I would raise is not being antagonistic with the fellow who asked you, and I don't know whether Bill Tyson or not, but who asked you about China.
Yeah.
That was just a straight question, which was legitimate.
Also, I think the question that Lissagor asked with regard to whether or not we were going to have a treaty or not, that was a legitimate question.
And it enabled me to give a legitimate answer.
But for the most part, these guys are really interested in the facts.
They're interested in badgering.
That's right.
That's not too bad either.
But I thought you came out exceptionally well, and I must say it, I think the more often you do it, the more biased you show them to be to the American people, because the American people, I'm convinced, have an antenna for this sort of thing.
They're not fools.
They see through this sort of thing.
I thought, again, the fact that they didn't ask you...
anything about this whole economic picture was the most incredible part of all.
Yeah, I was prepared, my God, I spent, I was prepared to answer a dozen questions on that, you know, about the, everything from the balance of payment to, I was going to say it to Bentley, that we, my, that the Secretary of Treasury had stated our position articulately and that I completely supported it, but
We were, of course, concerned about maintaining the international monetary situation, but we would not make decisions with regard to the international monetary situation that would be detrimental to our domestic economy, which is basically our view.
We damn well are not going to do it.
You know, it's all the more incredible when you realize that today, as we were on victory, we put out a long statement on the aluminum company labor settlement.
Not a question on that.
No, nothing on steel.
That's right, I was prepared to answer those.
Well, tomorrow you're going up before Wilbur.
Yes, sir.
The Battle of the Giants.
Let me tell you what I was going to answer on that.
I was going to do it with a very low-key and depth way.
I was going to say, well, it's quite clear that Chairman Mills...
as a majority of the committee, and that Secretary Connolly has a majority of the country.
And I believe that in the final analysis that the chairman will not deny to the Congress the opportunity to vote on this question of whether we should have revenue sharing.
That's really what's involved.
I don't know.
Well, I think it would have been a good answer.
If we'd ever gotten a question.
Yeah.
He's just got more and more belligerent, I assume, with the negotiations with George both then and recently.
I assume that, but I wouldn't be too sure.
When you go up, I feel you can say, look, we believe this very strongly, and we just believe the Congress ought to have a chance to vote on it.
I think that line is very effective in that, look, if he has a better plan, we'd like to know what it is.
He doesn't have enough.
I know it, and I'm amazed that he's gone this far out on a limb without having a better plan.
Because nearly everywhere, or without having any aid plans, nearly everywhere that he's been, you know, he promised that he would come up with something.
Did you go to Camp David or not?
No, sir, I didn't.
Well, I wanted you and your wife to go up there because it was lovely up there and you could have had a time for yourself.
Yeah, I suppose you had a schedule today.
Yeah, sir, I was at the office all morning until the middle of the afternoon and I came home and worked out here on the period.
I just thought it would be more trouble to go up there than to Kyle.
But I appreciate your thoughtfulness very much.
You get down, get a little rest now.
You and Weber, you know you and Weber, you're going to be on TV tomorrow night, I can assure you.
I'm sure that's right.
As I said, this is the battle of the giants.
And I think you ought to be very understanding.
We appreciate honest men disagreeing on this thing, but...
We have strong convictions that this matter ought to be submitted to the Congress.
Don't you really think that's the...
Yes, sir.
I think that's the only way to play it.
That's all.
And that if he has frozen in cement as to what it ought to be, but what do you want to do, Mr. Chairman?
You know?
Yeah.
Bye.
Okay.
All right, sir.
Well, give him a rest.
Thank you, sir.
Bye.
NARA Description
On June 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 10:10 pm to 10:16 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 004-012 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 4-12
Date: June 1, 1971
Time: 10:10 pm - 10:16 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with John B. Connally.
President's previous press conference
-Connally’s view
-President's conversation with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/18/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[004-012-w001]
[Duration: 5s]
President's previous press conference
-President's conversation with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Missed telephone call
-Occupied with family
-Wedding
******************************************************************************
President's previous press conference
-Questions on domestic issues
-Revenue sharing
-Environment
-Parks
-Government reorganization
-Economy
-Police arrest of May Day demonstrators
-President's demeanor
-Use of podium
-Facial expressions
-Antagonism of press
-J. William Theiss’ question
-Peter Lisagor's question
-Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty [SALT]
-US public opinion
-Frequency of press conferences
-Domestic issues questions
-Balance of payments
-President's prepared answer
-Aluminum company labor settlement
-Ronald L. Ziegler's statement, June 1
-Steel
Connally's meeting with Wilbur D. Mills, June 2
-Revenue sharing
-President's prepared answer
-Mills
-Negotiations with George P. Shultz
Connally's schedule
-Camp David
-Idanell (“Brill) (“Nellie”) Connally
-MillsAlso recorded on June 2, 1971
- 004-010 9:51 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:51 pm to 10:09 pm.
- 004-011 10:09 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 10:09 pm to 10:10 pm.
- 004-013 10:16 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 10:16 pm to 10:17 pm.
- 004-014 10:17 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 10:17 pm to 10:20 pm.
- 004-015 10:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:23 pm.
- 004-016 10:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:23 pm.
- 004-017 10:23 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover talked on the telephone from 10:23 pm to 10:29 pm.
- 004-018 10:30 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 10:30 pm to 10:34 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 004-012, June 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-012 (accessed October 10, 2026).