Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 004-030
Date: Friday, June 4, 1971 at 2:24 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-030

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Yeah.
[0:01] The Attorney General, Mr. President.
[0:03] Hello.
[0:03] The President.
[0:04] Hello.
[0:05] Yes, Mr. President.
[2:12] Well, on our operation yesterday, I was very pleased with it.
[2:17] I mean, I was, you know, the fact they had this flap over Murphy just made it a hell of a lot bigger story than otherwise it had been.
[2:23] I think that's absolutely true.
[2:25] And, of course, the stories are now coming over the wire today where the chiefs of police are defending the fact there wasn't any necessity to have Murphy or this other character, Tam, there.
[2:38] We couldn't have everybody and, you know, it's a room only holds so many.
[2:45] In any event, I think the controlling factor was that Murphy had criticized the chief here, the hell with him.
[2:54] I'm not going to have you in the room because we had unanimous opinion on that.
[2:59] And otherwise, with Murphy there, we'd have had a sorrow ball.
[3:02] Well, in addition, that would have been an insult to Jerry Wilson to bring him down here.
[3:05] That's right.
[3:06] That's right.
[3:06] And what it was done in the city.
[3:08] Well, he isn't considered, John, as he'd be a great chief up in New York.
[3:11] No, no place.
[3:13] No place.
[3:14] He's just a lib politician.
[3:16] That's all he is.
[3:17] That's right.
[3:17] And one of a...
[3:18] one of Lindsey's.
[3:21] What do you think of this running battle between Rocky and Lindsey?
[3:25] Is that just going to go on or is that just part of the scenario?
[3:29] No, it's going to go on and as soon as that legislature is out of there, I understand that Nelson is interested in taking some definitive steps such as taking over some of the functions possibly or possibly putting a commission
[3:47] like the old Seabury investigation in there to see what he's doing wrong, and I think he's going to stay with it because it's going to make him a lot more credible.
[3:58] Rockefeller has been refusing to meet Lindsey's state aid request for the...
[4:05] a reason that Lindsey is not properly administering the city and expending his monies properly.
[4:11] So in order to make that credible after he gets through the legislature, I think he'll take further steps along some lines to prove this to be true.
[4:20] That's good.
[4:21] Good.
[4:21] As a matter of fact,
[4:23] from all accounts, and of course I guess Ryland is a fellow that colors my comments, but I think Lindsey's just been a lousy mayor.
[4:31] Oh, he's terrible.
[4:32] He's a demagogue and a poor administrator.
[4:35] What he has done, Mr. President, has caused him so much trouble.
[4:39] He's gone in this liberal community.
[4:43] There's not a single...
[4:45] uh city employee that's working for him that's worth a damn all the good ones have up and gone yeah and he's got in all these do-gooders that are trying to run budgets and administer departments and it just isn't working the good employees have left are the good tough yeah they've all gone and he had some good ones at the beginning i helped him get some of them
[5:06] But they've all packed out here a couple of years ago.
[5:09] What does he have then?
[5:10] Just sort of a bunch of intellectuals, so-called, or what?
[5:14] Yeah, his top man of this Aurelio is a liberal Democrat who is one of the complete do-gooders.
[5:24] And that's been siphoned on down all through his administrative organization and his advisory commissions and so forth.
[5:31] And they just don't have anybody there that knows anything about municipal government.
[5:36] or how to manage it or have even a desire to do the right things in other words i'll take care of this welfare element and the liberal establishment the hell with the city's finances and how you administer a city yeah yeah yeah good well we'll uh
[6:05] John Lindsay's going to make a commencement address in New Hampshire.
[6:08] Oh, Lindsay is?
[6:10] Yeah.
[6:10] He's got three speeches, I understand.
[6:13] He's having quite a bit of difficulty deciding which one he's going to use.
[6:18] You mean in New Hampshire?
[6:20] Yeah.
[6:21] Probably kick us on the war.
[6:24] Undoubtedly that, but he's got one of them that's real hard and then a middle of the rotor and a...
[6:31] lighter one, and it may give some indication as to what he's got in mind.
[6:37] He hasn't got very many places to go, but there's people who are still toying with it and looking around.