Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 8 › Conversation 008-019

Nixon phone call with Andrews on Speechwriting and Veterans of Foreign Wars

Monday, August 16, 1971 · 9:35 PM–9:38 PM ET · White House Telephone ·4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Andrews, John K., Jr.Conversation008-019 onTape 8 (tape position 00:29:45–00:33:19)StartMonday, August 16, 1971 at 9:35 PMEndMonday, August 16, 1971 at 9:38 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs speechwriter John K. Andrews, Jr. to revise the draft for his upcoming address to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. Nixon instructs Andrews to pivot away from previous concepts in favor of themes emphasizing the challenge of peace, the maintenance of American military pride, and the necessity of economic strength and national spirit. The President suggests coordinating with speechwriter Raymond K. Price, Jr. to ensure consistent messaging across upcoming speeches and requests that Andrews join the trip to finalize the draft.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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yeah hello yeah i think uh i would like to uh start off on a new tack on the vfw thing i uh got your your thing on the eagle thing which i think is very good but i don't think it's quite quite the appropriate thing for this point these are not a particularly sophisticated group and uh
I mean, I think the ideas are fine, but I don't think...
I think not.
I'll tell you what I would like to do.
I'd like to take the end of my talk on Sunday night, and then I'd take off from that.
Well, first of all, sort of start with the proposition that you said that the BFW is made up of men who have fought for America abroad.
Let's get that point in.
Now we have a new challenge, the challenge of peace.
And that...
that challenge requires, first, that we keep America strong and a little on that.
Second, that we honor America's peacetime armed forces.
In other words, let's don't run down the military, something that out of our West Point Newport deal, you know, where it has to be proud of.
Third, that it's necessary for America to compete and that this is going to require that, you know, their support of our
uh, you know, our initiatives on, uh, in terms of, uh, that we don't want to build just a wall around ourselves and so forth, that, uh, that, uh, we welcome recent competition, and, uh, uh, and that this requires not only action in terms of, uh, supporting wage price and all that sort of thing, but mainly the spirit, and that there, that these, that let's, you know, be proud of this country and proud of its background and so forth.
That's sort of the, the line I'd like to sort of, uh,
develop, we just try something on that.
We don't, there's no hurry on it because I won't have to see anything on it until, you know, until, we'll say, oh, Wednesday, a Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Wednesday morning is when I have to see it.
Fine.
And you probably ought to go along on the trip so that you can find.
But I think if you could talk to Ray.
Ray's got, I think, somewhat the same thought, too, that we ought to take that in.
We're going to hit that theme in the Knights of Columbus, and I think hitting it again here, say some of the same things that we say at the Knights of Columbus, too, just sort of the same things.
It doesn't matter if we repeat, you see.
But I think the themes that keep America strong,
To keep America strong, of course, we have to have a strong economy.
And that's one of the challenges of peace, jobs, and all that sort of thing.
And we've got to also have a strong spirit for America to be a W. Of course, the members of the people that provide that is better than anybody else.
Okay?
Yeah.
Right.
Good.
Sort of take those themes, if you will, and sort of try a new tack on it.
Fine.
Good.
Fine.

NARA Description

On August 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John K. Andrews, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:35 pm to 9:38 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-19

Date: August 16, 1971
Time: 9:35 pm - 9:38 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John K. Andrews, Jr.

     The President's speech
          -Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW] convention
                -August 19, 1971
          -Andrews’ draft
          -Possible content
                -President’s August 15, 1971 statement
                -VFW
                -Challenge of peace
                -America’s strength
                -US military
                -Economic competition
                      -Wages and prices
                -Pride
          -Timing of draft
          -Trip
                -Andrews
          -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
                -Knights of Columbus speech, August 17, 1971
          -Themes
                -Repetition
          -US strength
                -Economy
                      -Jobs
                -Spirit

Also recorded on August 17, 1971

  • 008-016 9:07 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 9:07 pm to 9:10 pm.
  • 008-017 9:28 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:28 pm.
  • 008-018 9:34 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:34 pm.
  • 008-020 9:38 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:38 pm and 9:40 pm.
  • 008-021 9:39 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 9:39 pm to 9:40 pm.
  • 008-022 9:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 9:40 pm to 9:42 pm.
  • 008-023 9:42 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:42 pm and 9:54 pm.
  • 008-024 9:54 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 9:54 pm to 9:59 pm.

All 48 conversations from August 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-019, August 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-019 (accessed September 18, 2026).