Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 010-027
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 1971 at 8:27 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/010-027

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Oh.
[0:06] I have Mr. Colton for you there.
[0:11] Yeah.
[0:16] There we are.
[0:16] Hello.
[0:16] Well, you really pulled one off of the POW wire, Mr. President.
[0:19] Were you there?
[0:19] No, I got a report from John Skelly, though, who I set up.
[0:21] I have to admit, I was scared to death of that one.
[0:22] Well, I was a little scared, but you've got to do the things that are tough.
[0:24] Well, you just, by God, John said that when you came in, there was just a gas and a sigh of surprise.
[0:27] Well, the surprise is what made it.
[0:29] Yeah.
[0:31] When I got through with them, they were cheering and crying and everything.
[0:59] Well, now one thing I want you to do, it's a personal thing, and I just talked to Henry about this.
[1:06] Chuck, I want you to get somebody, and I think Goldwater's the man, to take Teddy on in that disgraceful state.
[1:35] It was an outrageous statement.
[1:44] I don't know whether you've seen it.
[1:47] Oh, I just heard it, and that's enough.
[1:49] Well, it's just outrageous.
[1:51] Really outrageous.
[1:53] A lot of rotting in camps.
[1:57] What he said is that Kennedy accused the administration of lack of imagination...
[2:09] What we are going to do, he said, is just stand behind the flag and let them rise.
[2:17] Rise to federal.
[2:17] But now somebody's got to take him on in hard tomorrow, or I'll have to.
[2:21] Now, God damn it, I don't.
[2:23] I must not.
[2:23] But I want somebody to do it.
[2:25] If it's a Ruska, anybody.
[2:28] Now, let me get ahold of Thor tonight.
[2:35] Yeah.
[2:35] Ask Barry if he will do that.
[2:36] I might just get him that much.
[2:36] What about Agnew?
[2:38] Well, Teddy has to be slapped, slapped hard on this.
[2:56] Yeah, what was his?
[2:57] Same thing?
[2:59] Trying to keep the war going?
[3:07] Yeah.
[3:10] And nobody's answered.
[3:11] What the Christ is the matter with our people?
[3:24] Why don't you get a hold of Rogers, have him have a little guts and take that on.
[3:30] Yeah, you call Rogers, not tonight, but tomorrow, and he has to ask him to take on this damn heartbeat.
[4:46] that kind of a statement, like, give them a bad name.
[4:56] But you really, God, you really served them.
[4:57] It was really the job.
[4:58] They were cheering, and they were stomping their feet, and they were excited beyond.
[5:23] Oh, I didn't ask them to come.
[5:27] But they had press there to cover metal, so they'll cover something, but you'll probably find one white that didn't agree and quote that.
[5:53] Yeah.
[5:55] I had to call you because they were in the room.
[5:57] They said, did Christ fix your meeting?
[5:59] I said, I know we did.
[6:20] Get all the Republicans.
[6:23] Yeah.
[6:23] Yeah, I know.
[6:39] Right, I know.
[6:41] Yeah, I understand.
[6:53] Yeah.
[6:53] Right.
[7:20] Get the NAM to call, too.
[7:21] Have them call people.
[7:21] Call them.
[7:21] Yeah, yeah.
[7:23] They really filled it up.
[7:45] Dan Rather came on and said it was the number one issue.
[7:46] Which way is Rather?
[7:47] He's for Muskie?
[7:47] No.
[7:47] Well, I'm sure he is.
[7:48] But he just had one interview after another with people criticizing him.
[7:49] And the conclusion was that whether he intended it that way or not, his campaign was better off the way Robin said it was brainwashed.
[7:52] Hmm.
[7:52] The net effect of it was very negative.
[8:08] You know, how do you know if it's a trust?
[8:10] You're talking about the fourth party, and you're talking about the black man, John, who's going to be in the president.
[8:14] Yeah, good.
[8:14] But it's what it is.
[8:15] Now, let's keep the heat on, though, with regard to support for the president and the economic thing.
[8:17] We've really got to hit that damn thing, because we can't let these people get off the hook on that.
[8:19] On the economics?
[8:20] right you know i've been trying for three weeks to get somebody up
[8:50] Why don't we say that the Democratic Senators, the Democrats in the House and the Senate that are delaying and obstructing are out of step with the country?
[9:10] Out of step.
[9:20] Keep slugging up.
[9:44] All right.
[9:46] Fine.