Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 6 › Conversation 006-131

Nixon phone call with Colson on Unemployment and Economic policy

Saturday, July 3, 1971 · 4:37 PM–4:38 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation006-131 on Tape 6 (tape position 02:43:36–02:44:47)StartSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 4:37 PMEndSaturday, July 3, 1971 at 4:38 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 006-131 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss strategies for effectively communicating positive economic data following the upcoming release of unemployment figures. They highlight the importance of providing Republican legislators, such as Robert Dole and Hugh Scott, with simplified talking points to emphasize the record-breaking drop in unemployment and growth in job numbers. Colson confirms that a one-page summary has already been distributed to GOP leadership to ensure a unified and impactful public narrative.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
One way it occurs to me, of course, to get a better bounce out of this, and I assume you've already taken care of it or are taking care of it, and that is to be sure that our congressmen and senators, and to the extent we have them other spokesmen, that rather than their relying on
on this release and sort of the mixed bag they get out of the press to just give them a simple one-page statement, maybe about Hodgson or something like that.
We sent one up yesterday, which you saw, perhaps in the new summary, that Dole and Scott used.
Yeah, I see.
And it's damn good.
Yeah, good.
It points out that the breadwinners are down to 3.1% unemployment.
The full-time workers are down to 5%.
It's excellent.
Well, I think the two that are starting with the main thing, employment dropped to the biggest drop in 20 years.
Right.
Okay.
And we're on the verge of 80 million jobs in this country, which is unprecedented.
Okay.
We'll see what they all have to answer.
Bye.

NARA Description

On July 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:37 pm to 4:38 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 006-131 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 6-131

Date: July 3, 1971
Time: 4:37 pm - 4:38 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

     Unemployment figures release
         -Republican Congressmen
         -One-page press release
         -Possible statement by James D. Hodgson
         -Robert J. Dole, Hugh Scott

Also recorded on July 3, 1971

  • 006-125 3:57 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 3:57 pm to 3:59 pm.
  • 006-126 3:59 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:59 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 006-127 4:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William H. Carruthers talked on the telephone from 4:05 pm to 4:06 pm.
  • 006-128 4:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:06 pm and 4:12 pm.
  • 006-129 4:12 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 4:22 pm.
  • 006-130 4:22 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:22 pm and 4:37 pm.
  • 006-132 4:38 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 006-133 6:04 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:04 pm to 6:05 pm.

All 45 conversations from July 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 006-131, July 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/006-131 (accessed October 12, 2026).