Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-049

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on George H.W. Bush and Foreign aid

Sunday, October 31, 1971 · 5:30 PM–5:39 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation013-049 on Tape 13 (tape position 01:38:24–01:47:34)StartSunday, October 31, 1971 at 5:30 PMEndSunday, October 31, 1971 at 5:39 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-049 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss political messaging strategies in response to a recent Senate vote on foreign aid. Nixon praises George H.W. Bush’s media performance, contrasting his loyalty with the perceived deficiencies of Charles Yost, while dismissing Henry Kissinger's recommendation for a presidential television address on the complex, technical topic. The two also coordinate upcoming cabinet scheduling and explore the possibility of inviting Ronald Reagan to an official dinner for Indira Gandhi.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 6 minutes of this recording (about 63% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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?
Mr. Holden.
Yeah.
Hello?
Yes, sir.
Well, Chuck Colson told me that Bush did a really good job on the program.
Did you see him return?
I didn't see him, but I understand he really came through.
He's very close with the person.
He's always very, you know, he's very, you know, he's very, you know, he's very, you know, he's very, you know,
and all the things that you'd never get from Yost.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
The difference between him and Yost is the loyalty.
Right.
And his willingness to go out on the, you know, the hit.
That's right.
Yost would have never done that.
That's right.
Well, tomorrow, I think I...
I talked to him yesterday, and I wanted to get to him.
I think he's coming back tonight.
Well, he'll be back by tomorrow.
I believe so, yeah.
I think this is a good position.
way to go after it.
Henry has an idea which I didn't want to give him a version to, and he said, why don't you go on?
And I, in time, expressed to him, you should support Warren Hayden on it.
I said, Henry, that's the wrong issue.
You know, go.
His feeling, of course, is that there's always
don't you agree yeah i don't think
No, it's also a hypo issue that is pretty technical.
They play it for a while, and it's all made.
But the final analysis, you'll get it.
You'll get something.
The way, that's the way to have it.
Don't you agree?
I sure do.
and i don't know how it would be well you haven't got anything to go on about this is not the time to do that
This sort of passage is a big story.
It is not a big story.
Average people.
Too complicated.
Too complicated.
Okay.
Sure.
The worst thing to do is play back on their ground.
Why, sure, sure.
They just, they're going to pick on us.
Yep.
They've done this all along.
We're making the big plays.
So you don't go to basketball.
But they'll do that.
But the rest of the day tomorrow, I want to keep the Rodgers.
They're there to push.
They're there to pour a box.
Yeah, well, I'll work on Rodgers at the time.
Is there anything else in particular that we need to do?
No.
No, really?
There's nothing?
No.
Well, you check.
Did you have to check out that telephone?
Yeah.
That was, they, apparently, there had been some rubble and they were, correction is what they were going to do, and that's really what they're still doing.
They have no specific plan.
and uh john was going to get the main thing now you know reagan wants to come back you got the dates no uh we're trying to tie it in with when he's going to be back here or when he can work some other events well it occurred to me you could invite him to the indian dinner
That might be it.
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back to that.
We'll come back to that.
We have been talking with his office about, you know, what their general plans were.
That's a good idea, though.
I think the Gandhi was more important.
Of course, we're going to see a video version of it like that, too.
Yeah, but the Indian people got a lot of dollars for a bigger deal.
That's okay.
That's a good idea.
Now, when does CUNN get planned?
Not until the 11th, I believe it is.
Yeah, the 11th, the week of Thursday.
Right.
The week of Thursday.
Right.
They set this plan.
No, no.
I, as I told her, that's what happened to her skin.
She gets all, all the time.
I said, well, it's been one of the biggest changes.
They're in many battles now.
They're going to find, they've got to win.
But the point is, they've got the number.
But they are going to do anything just for the purpose of making us look bad.
And we must not play their game.
We've got to just always make it clear we're all going to do it.
But to get out and fight back on their issue publicly,
We'll run her out.
Okay.
Very good.

NARA Description

On October 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:30 pm to 5:39 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-049 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-049

Date: October 31, 1971
Time: 5:30 pm - 5:39 pm
Location: White House Telephone

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

     George H.W. Bush
          -Appearance on television
              -President's conversation with Charles Colson
          -Compared to Charles W. Yost

     William P. Rogers’ schedule
          -President's conversation with Henry A. Kissinger
          -Meeting with President
     Kissinger
          -Senate vote on foreign aid

     Foreign aid
          -As an issue
          -Possible White House response to Senate vote
                -Television appearance by President
                     -Other issues
                     -Article in New York Times

     President's forthcoming schedule
           -Rogers
           -Melvin R. Laird

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

     John N. Mitchell's activities
          -Ronald W. Reagan

     Reagan's schedule
         -Possible meeting with the President
                -Report of Reagan’s foreign trip
         -White House Head of State Dinner
                -Indira Gandhi
                -Australian
                -India
                      -Importance

     John Connally's schedule

     President's schedule
           -Florida

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/13/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[013-049-w002]
[Duration: 35s]

       Airplane travel
              -Logistics
              -Press plane
              -Use of plane to pick up press
              -Decision on November 1, 1971

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

     President's conversation with Kissinger
           -President's opponents in Congress
                 -Allegations

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                      -Foreign aid
                 -White House response

Also recorded on October 31, 1971

  • 013-045 5:07 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:07 pm.
  • 013-046 5:07 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 5:24 pm.
  • 013-047 5:24 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 5:24 pm to 5:28 pm.
  • 013-048 5:28 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:28 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 013-050 5:39 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:39 pm and 7:57 pm.

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-049, October 31, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-049 (accessed September 30, 2026).