Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 9 › Conversation 009-056

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Vietnam War and Legislative Strategy

Thursday, September 16, 1971 · 9:34 PM–9:37 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation009-056 on Tape 9 (tape position 01:52:57–01:56:10)StartThursday, September 16, 1971 at 9:34 PMEndThursday, September 16, 1971 at 9:37 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 009-056 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss legislative strategy regarding upcoming congressional votes, specifically focusing on the need to maintain party discipline on Vietnam policy. They analyze how to pressure members of Congress and Vice President Spiro Agnew to align with the administration’s position, framing dissent as a threat to global peace negotiations. The discussion concludes with a push to break a potential filibuster to ensure the administration’s stance prevails.

Audio

Download MP3 · 4.4 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 64% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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).

Well, you had a night on the Sequoia, huh?

Yep, yep.

Yeah, go ahead.

Sapphire?

I didn't have the right group, but Ray is head of that group, and Alex is out with Butterfield.

That's a good group, and that's why it's really easy to compliment the same individual group.

Right.

So, we'll do that for a while.

I think that it's important to get the stuff in the draft, the stuff down.

Vietnam, very heavily down among our congressional people.

And the vice president, too.

They've got a line.

They all want to follow the line now.

Yeah.

Powerful argument.

Yeah.

Well, the president says that this will make us number two.

And second, that it will jeopardize our negotiated peace initiatives all over the world.

Now, goddammit, how the hell can you vote that way?

Well, we shall see.

I hope they have a chance.

Yeah, in other words, break the filibuster.

Okay.

All right.

NARA Description

On September 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:34 pm to 9:37 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 009-056 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 9-56

Date: September 16, 1971
Time: 9:34 pm - 9:37 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Haldeman's previous location

          -Frederic V. Malek
          -Charles W. Colson
          -Ronald L. Ziegler
          -Raymond K. Price
          -William L. Safire
          -Alexander P. Butterfield

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 01/03/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[009-056-w001]
[Duration: 29s]

     Edmund S. Muskie speech
         -Patrick J. Buchanan
         -Effect on campaign

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

     Draft issue
           -Vote
                 -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
                 -Colson and Clark MacGregor
                 -Peace negotiations
                 -Tabling

Also recorded on September 16, 1971

278-072 3:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:41 pm to 3:43 pm.
278-073 3:43 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:43 pm and 4:00 pm.
573-001 4:00 PM · 56 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, William L. Safire, Clark MacGregor, Herbert G. Klein, Stephen B. Bull, Patrick J. Buchanan, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:00 pm to 4:58 pm.
075-004 4:58 PM · 1 hr 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon and elected state and local officials, including Arch A. Moore, Jr., Richard B. Ogilvie, Thomas J. Meskill, Winfield Dunn, Warren E. Hearnes, J. James Exon, Wendall R. Anderson, Frank Licht, Luis A. Ferre, John C. West, William J. Connor, Gladys N. Spellman, Bernard Hillenbrand, Henry W. Maier, Louie Welch, John J. Gunther, Richard G. Lugar, Pat Healy, John B. Connally, James G. Martin, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Herbert Stein, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Charls E. Walker, Ronald L. Ziegler, the White House photographer, and members of the press, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 4:58 pm and 7:00 pm.
009-045 6:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 6:21 pm to 6:22 pm.
573-002 6:21 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:21 pm to 6:29 pm.
009-046 6:22 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:22 pm and 9:03 pm.
573-003 6:29 PM · 49 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:29 pm and 6:31 pm.

All 53 conversations from September 16, 1971 →

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Congressional Relations and Debt Limit October 12, 1972 · 4 min
Nixon & Haldeman on Draft extension bill and Congressional relations September 16, 1971 · 20 min
Nixon, Haldeman & Ehrlichman on Spiro Agnew and Personnel staffing January 25, 1973 · 1 hr 57 min
Nixon phone call with Scott on Phase II and Federal pay bill October 6, 1971 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Gross on Parliamentary procedure October 6, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon, Haldeman & Agnew on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Amnesty July 21, 1972 · 22 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 009-056, September 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/009-056 (accessed October 27, 2026).