Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 7 › Conversation 007-126

Nixon phone call with Mitchell on Wage-Price Freeze and Economic Policy

Sunday, August 15, 1971 · 9:56 PM–10:02 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.Conversation007-126 on Tape 7 (tape position 04:35:20–04:40:37)StartSunday, August 15, 1971 at 9:56 PMEndSunday, August 15, 1971 at 10:02 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 007-126 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Mitchell discuss the successful delivery and public reception of the President's recent televised speech announcing a major wage-price freeze and international economic policy shift. The conversation highlights the strategic decision to prioritize domestic concerns like jobs and the cost of living over complex monetary explanations to ensure a compelling message. Nixon tasks Mitchell with coordinating with Treasury Secretary John Connally to ensure that interest rates and corporate dividend limits are emphasized during upcoming press briefings to maintain public support.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 12% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Hello?
Well, John, we didn't go half-assed, did we?
You know, I wrote that speech the night before last.
It worked all night long.
and getting it down to 18 minutes on that.
And, of course, nobody understood the International Monitoring thing, but, you know, the speechwriters had prepared one.
I'd say it had taken a half hour on that, 15 minutes of it, 45 minutes of speech.
I said, the hell with that.
So I said, nobody understands it, so we're going to start with peace, then jobs, then cost of living, and I'll spend...
Three minutes on that subject.
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
You're good.
And I've got a great stroke.
You hung all the lessons around the international monetary, what you call monetary standards.
Right.
And we understand that there's a new international package in the United States.
You hung all the lessons on that.
And I've got you off the hook on all these other answers.
They put a real tension to the whole operation.
You really did.
I thought it was just fabulous.
And I saw a little bit of that Billy Graham punch.
Challenge?
Competition?
Competition.
I thought that was good.
At the end?
You liked that?
Yes, I did.
I thought it was just great.
Well, John, there's been nothing so comprehensive presented since Roosevelt.
And Arthur Byrne says, well, really, you know, Mr. President, Roosevelt did it in six different stages.
He said, you did it in what?
Now what the stock market does is going to be interesting.
It may go down because of the dividend thing, because of the international thing, but if they got any goddamn sense, they ought to buy.
I don't believe it.
What do you think it'll do?
I think they're waiting for something like this.
The stock market, you know, may be good for half a day or a day, but this is going to capture the imagination of the world.
That's the only question I can think of.
One little point there, I think, is that we're being plucked up by the economy.
I don't know.
Right.
The interest rate is tough because there are so many ways to get around it.
But dividends, we should be god-damned.
You know, as I said on the auto industry, I will insist that they pass it on.
We called them today, John, and asked them not only to do this, but to reduce their other car, their new car by some hundred dollars in road street views.
That's why I said I'd put them on the spot.
Well, I don't know how they can expect the president, but they all have to fight for color.
Well, they ask us to do everything.
That's the way it all is.
At the cabinet meeting tomorrow, will you raise that?
Because John Connolly feels so strongly in his traits.
Burns and all the rest, say, put him down.
By God, I want to, I think the interest rates, maybe we ought to speak on them.
Well, I think we've got a very strong volunteer client.
Yeah.
Frankly, as you well know, a hell of a lot of bankers are selfish bastards, really.
That's right.
Maybe John's going to have a press conference tomorrow at noon.
I'll tell you what you do.
If you would call him tonight, now he's at the Treasury, and tell him that you and I were talking about this and that I wanted him to do it tonight, that I feel that the interest rate thing should be hit at the press conference.
He ought to hit it.
You'll find an audience.
It's all for you.
The dividends, I put the speech, but we're all set on that.
The dividends...
The dividends, we have called on corporations to limit their dividends.
But the dividends, the interest rates, yeah.
But he ought to hit it very hard tomorrow.
So it doesn't look like the big corporations get him.
Get him a call right now, will you?
I just got a bouquet.
You do?
Let me.
Okay.
Fine, John.
You don't mind doing that Granite City thing?
And if you lie to this, nobody's going to notice.
All right.
Thank you, John.

NARA Description

On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 9:56 pm to 10:02 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 007-126 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 7-126

Date: August 15, 1971
Time: 9:56 pm - 10:02 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John N. Mitchell.
     Wage-price freeze speech
         -Mitchell's reaction
         -Preparation of speech
               -Length
               -International economy
         -Speech writers
               -International economy
               -Peace
               -Jobs
               -Cost of living
         -Mitchell's reaction
         -William F. (“Billy”) Graham
         -Arthur F. Burns
         -Stock market reaction
         -John B. Connally
         -Interest rates and dividends
               -Automobile industry
               -Cabinet meeting
                      -Connally
                      -Burns
               -Bankers
               -Connally's press conference
                      -Mitchell's call to Connally

     Mitchell's schedule

Also recorded on August 16, 1971

  • 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.
  • 007-127 10:03 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and David M. Kennedy talked on the telephone from 10:03 pm to 10:05 pm.
  • 007-128 10:05 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:05 pm.
  • 007-129 10:06 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:06 pm to 10:21 pm.

All 88 conversations from August 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 007-126, 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/007-126 (accessed October 12, 2026).