Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 7 › Conversation 007-120

Nixon phone call with Ford on Wage-price freeze and Economic policy

Sunday, August 15, 1971 · 9:39 PM–9:44 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ford, Gerald R.Conversation007-120 on Tape 7 (tape position 04:21:15–04:25:28)StartSunday, August 15, 1971 at 9:39 PMEndSunday, August 15, 1971 at 9:44 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 007-120 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Representative Gerald Ford discussed the political and economic implications of the administration's newly announced wage-price freeze and broader economic policy shifts. Nixon explained his strategy for protecting the dollar, including the suspension of gold convertibility and the imposition of import duties, to address international trade imbalances. Ford expressed strong support for the domestic tax and spending components of the plan, while Nixon emphasized the necessity of these unilateral actions to force international monetary reform.

Audio

Download MP3 · 5.8 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Hi, Mr. President.
Hi, Jerry.
How are you?
I'm fine.
How are you?
Couldn't be better.
I thought that was a great speech.
Well, we got your excise tax.
Well, I was...
I think maybe, Jerry, we pulled the rug out from under those bastards who've been after us.
What do you think?
Well, I think Wilbur Mills will have a few seconds on.
Well, my reaction... You really thought it was right, though, do you?
Absolutely.
The tax package is tremendous.
The cutback in spending, what, 4.7 domestically.
I like that.
And the 10% on foreign aid, that'll be damn well received.
And the only thing I don't understand, and I'm not an expert in this area, is the international side.
Well, that's so technical.
What it really gets down to is they're trying to bust the dollar, and it doesn't have anything to do with the American market.
So we just have to quit redeeming in gold, and we work out a new system.
That's all it means.
But the key line there was I said the dollar would not be the hostage of international money traders anymore.
The imposition of wage, price, and dividend controls, I think all you have to do is prosecute one or two, and that'll take care of the rest.
We're going to.
Well, I think that's the key, Mr. President.
The people probably want it, don't they, Jerry?
I think they do, although... You can't tell.
The polls show they do, but you never know what they'll do in a quench.
Well, it all depends, you know...
The guy that raised his prices yesterday, he'll love it.
But the point is, the main thing is having it 90 days.
Right.
Then moving off to a wage price board, which is what we're going to do.
We've got to get out of it.
After 90 days, it'll break down, you know.
Well, the main thrust, though, of the whole package is, I think, going to be damn well received.
Well, it's jobs, fighting the cost of living, and protecting America abroad.
They may not...
understand the dollar, but I think they understood when I said that we've given $143 billion to build up our competitors, and now, by gosh, we're not going to fight with one hand tied behind our back.
Q And I think the 10 percent imposition of a duty or whatever you call it is going to be damned helpful in some of these areas where there's been a lot of competition.
A That's right.
That's right.
Q Does that begin tomorrow?
Today.
Oh, this minute.
See, I can oppose that unilaterally, and I can oppose the wage-price freeze unilaterally.
So that, as of this moment, it's done.
The other things require congressional action.
Well, overall, the parts that I understand, I think, are damn good, substantively as well as politically.
You will have to get your expert to explain to me the form.
Don't try to understand it.
Don't try.
Believe me, I've been over it for months.
I think I understand it, but it isn't worth the trouble.
Let me ask you one thing.
Yeah.
The comment about the convertibility of dollars...
Into gold and other assets.
Right.
And that's special drawing rights, SDRs, and it's so damn complicated.
Let me say this.
It really...
isn't something we should be worried about.
There needs to be a new international system.
I felt it for many years, and the last two years I've told Arthur Frank, everybody agrees we have to have it.
You've got to give shock treatment to other countries.
The major countries that are really giving it to us are the Germans and the Japanese.
So we're trying to force them to get in line.
The French and the British are okay.
The other countries don't matter, see?
That's what it is.
But don't try to understand international things.

NARA Description

On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 9:39 pm to 9:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 007-120 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No.7-120

Date: August 15, 1971
Time: 9:39 pm - 9:44 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Gerald R. Ford talked with the President.

     Wage-price freeze speech
         -Ford's reaction
               -Wilbur D. Mills
               -Tax package
               -Spending cutback
               -Foreign aid
               -International economics
                     -Gold conversion
               -Wage-price dividend controls
                     -Possible public reaction
                     -Ninety days
                           -Wage-price board
         -International competition

               -Duties
               -Timing
          -Wage-price freeze
          -Congressional action
          -Dollar conversion
               -Special Drawing Rights [SDR]
                     -Arthur F. Burns
          -Countries
               -Germany and Japan
               -France and Great Britain

**********************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 08/09/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[007-120-w002]
[Duration: 19s]

     Wage-price freeze speech
         -Countries
               -Robert P. Griffin’s reelection
                     -Claim credit

     Congratulations

**********************************************************************

Also recorded on August 16, 1971

  • 007-118 9:30 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:30 pm to 9:39 pm.
  • 007-119 9:39 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:39 pm.
  • 007-121 9:44 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:44 pm and 9:46 pm.
  • 007-122 9:46 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 9:46 pm to 9:50 pm.
  • 007-123 9:50 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:50 pm.
  • 007-124 9:50 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 9:50 pm to 9:55 pm.
  • 007-125 9:55 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:55 pm.
  • 007-126 9:56 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 9:56 pm to 10:02 pm.

All 88 conversations from August 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 007-120, August 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/007-120 (accessed October 12, 2026).