Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 014-049
Date: Thursday, November 11, 1971 at 4:29 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Scott, Hugh; Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/014-049
National Archives Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/417190629 (NAID 417190629)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] I have Senator Scott for you now, Mr. President.
[0:04] Hello.
[0:04] Hello, Mr. President.
[0:06] You'd guess that normally I'd be calling you because of a vote I'm very pleased with, but I'm doing it for a more important reason.
[0:11] Oh.
[0:12] Your birthday.
[0:13] Oh, thank you.
[0:13] And I just hope you have a, and you just go home and say that I said you would take the night off, come hell or high water.
[0:20] Well.
[0:21] Okay?
[0:21] I appreciate it.
[0:22] I'll pass the word around.
[0:24] President Agnew's birthday and mine come very close together.
[0:27] Yeah, his was just the other night, the night of the party.
[0:29] Yes, he congratulated me.
[0:30] This is a nice birthday present.
[0:32] We only lost two Republicans, Mr. President.
[0:34] I must say that was a tremendous job yesterday and today, and you've just been great in your leadership.
[0:40] I lost just two, and I had one of those if I needed them.
[0:43] I'll be most grateful, most grateful.
[0:45] So I think things are improving.
[0:47] And let me tell you, how in the world did you win the Senate Amendment?
[0:49] I can't understand you could have won that darn thing.
[0:52] Well, we did some, a little bit of modest arm twisting there.
[0:56] You know, you have put the thing right in proper perspective, you and I, when I didn't, I tried to in my remarks in New York and Chicago the other night in a general sense, but basically when you say the whole prospect of our reducing American...
[1:13] presence abroad.
[1:16] is going to be torpedoed if we don't continue our aid programs.
[1:20] That's what it's all about, isn't it?
[1:21] It certainly is.
[1:22] I mean, take Korea.
[1:23] Korea is the clearest example.
[1:25] You've been there, and you know very well we've been able to reduce by 20,000 in Korea because we increased the assistance side.
[1:31] Well, now, that's a darn good tradeoff, I think.
[1:33] I think it is, too.
[1:34] Dollars for people.
[1:35] And the same in Vietnam.
[1:37] It's a hell of a lot better to have eight casualties in Vietnam than 300.
[1:41] And so if we've got to have 500,000 million in aid, it's a lot better.
[1:45] than the other way.
[1:46] That's another way to look at that.
[1:47] Of course, and I made the same point in the five-minute summation because Mike made one of these impassioned emotional speeches.
[1:53] I know he always does.
[1:54] And I thought we'd cool it off a little, but we got some help from Swika and Wika and several others, Mike.
[2:01] How'd you get those?
[2:02] That's curious.
[2:03] Just a sort of personal plea.
[2:05] I've asked him to give me a birthday present, things like that.
[2:08] That's great.
[2:08] These little presents.
[2:10] Well, that was a marvelous job.
[2:11] And here's Henry Kissinger just walked in.
[2:13] He wants to congratulate you, too.
[2:14] Thank you, sir, very much.
[2:15] Well, anyway, here.
[2:16] This is Scott.
[2:22] He's pretty cute.
[2:22] You?
[2:23] Yes.
[2:24] Congratulations.
[2:25] Thank you very much.
[2:26] President said I could take the rest of the night off.
[2:30] Well, I hope you get to a birthday party.
[2:33] I hope so.
[2:33] We have the military procurement bill conference report on now.
[2:38] So we might be at that.
[2:41] This was really great.
[2:42] We only lost two Republicans, and one of them would have been with us if we needed him.
[2:46] That was Cotton.
[2:47] Isn't that great?
[2:49] It's a low watermark, a high watermark, whatever you call it.
[2:52] Well, isn't that terrific?
[2:54] Recently, we've had very great improvement in unity up here.
[2:58] Well...
[2:59] I begged a little.
[3:00] I told them it was my birthday.
[3:01] Well, congratulations on the vote and congratulations on your birthday.
[3:06] I hope we can work together for a long time.
[3:08] I certainly hope so.
[3:10] Best of luck to you, too.
[3:11] Thank you.
[3:12] All the best to you.
[3:13] Thank you very much.
[3:14] Bye.
[3:15] Bye.