Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 007-126
Date: Sunday, August 15, 1971 at 9:56 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/007-126

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello?
[0:04] Hello?
[0:05] Well, John, we didn't go half-assed, did we?
[0:13] You know, I wrote that speech the night before last.
[0:23] It worked all night long.
[0:26] and getting it down to 18 minutes on that.
[0:28] And, of course, nobody understood the International Monitoring thing, but, you know, the speechwriters had prepared one.
[0:35] I'd say it had taken a half hour on that, 15 minutes of it, 45 minutes of speech.
[0:39] I said, the hell with that.
[0:40] So I said, nobody understands it, so we're going to start with peace, then jobs, then cost of living, and I'll spend...
[0:47] Three minutes on that subject.
[1:06] Well, I'll tell you one thing.
[1:07] You're good.
[1:07] And I've got a great stroke.
[1:08] You hung all the lessons around the international monetary, what you call monetary standards.
[1:10] Right.
[1:10] And we understand that there's a new international package in the United States.
[1:11] You hung all the lessons on that.
[1:12] And I've got you off the hook on all these other answers.
[1:13] They put a real tension to the whole operation.
[1:15] You really did.
[1:18] I thought it was just fabulous.
[1:29] And I saw a little bit of that Billy Graham punch.
[1:31] Challenge?
[1:31] Competition?
[1:31] Competition.
[1:31] I thought that was good.
[1:32] At the end?
[1:32] You liked that?
[1:33] Yes, I did.
[1:33] I thought it was just great.
[1:33] Well, John, there's been nothing so comprehensive presented since Roosevelt.
[1:53] And Arthur Byrne says, well, really, you know, Mr. President, Roosevelt did it in six different stages.
[2:00] He said, you did it in what?
[2:02] Now what the stock market does is going to be interesting.
[2:11] 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.
[2:19] I don't believe it.
[2:19] What do you think it'll do?
[2:20] I think they're waiting for something like this.
[2:23] 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.
[2:40] That's the only question I can think of.
[2:41] One little point there, I think, is that we're being plucked up by the economy.
[2:42] I don't know.
[2:47] Right.
[2:53] The interest rate is tough because there are so many ways to get around it.
[2:57] But dividends, we should be god-damned.
[3:00] You know, as I said on the auto industry, I will insist that they pass it on.
[3:04] 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.
[3:14] That's why I said I'd put them on the spot.
[3:15] Well, I don't know how they can expect the president, but they all have to fight for color.
[3:18] Well, they ask us to do everything.
[3:19] That's the way it all is.
[3:30] At the cabinet meeting tomorrow, will you raise that?
[3:33] Because John Connolly feels so strongly in his traits.
[3:36] Burns and all the rest, say, put him down.
[3:39] By God, I want to, I think the interest rates, maybe we ought to speak on them.
[3:46] Well, I think we've got a very strong volunteer client.
[3:52] Yeah.
[3:52] Frankly, as you well know, a hell of a lot of bankers are selfish bastards, really.
[4:03] That's right.
[4:06] Maybe John's going to have a press conference tomorrow at noon.
[4:08] I'll tell you what you do.
[4:11] 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.
[4:24] He ought to hit it.
[4:25] You'll find an audience.
[4:27] It's all for you.
[4:30] The dividends, I put the speech, but we're all set on that.
[4:34] The dividends...
[4:35] The dividends, we have called on corporations to limit their dividends.
[4:40] But the dividends, the interest rates, yeah.
[4:43] But he ought to hit it very hard tomorrow.
[4:48] So it doesn't look like the big corporations get him.
[5:01] Get him a call right now, will you?
[5:02] I just got a bouquet.
[5:02] You do?
[5:02] Let me.
[5:03] Okay.
[5:04] Fine, John.
[5:05] You don't mind doing that Granite City thing?
[5:09] And if you lie to this, nobody's going to notice.
[5:13] All right.
[5:15] Thank you, John.