Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 019-164
Date: Saturday, January 29, 1972 at 10:43 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-164

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hello.
[0:01] Attorney General, Mr. President.
[0:03] President, sir.
[0:04] Good morning, Mr. President.
[0:06] Holloman and Olson and I are just sitting here, and we're deciding how we're going to divide up those limbs.
[0:11] I thought that was a great spirit statement.
[0:18] She said just what about everybody felt.
[0:20] Wasn't that the goddamnedest thing you ever saw?
[0:22] I think it's unbelievable the way people with this... You know what gave her away, John?
[0:28] If she had just said stop the killing, that would have been fine.
[0:32] But when she said God bless Ellsberg and God bless the Berrigans, that confused everything.
[0:38] I knew that she was one of these...
[0:41] Completely way out, probably communist.
[0:45] I wouldn't be surprised.
[0:46] But I just thought that...
[0:49] It occurred to me that it might have been a plant because of the fact that she'd just been there for 10 days.
[0:56] I know.
[0:56] She just came in and... No, I don't think it was an accident.
[1:00] I think it was a plant.
[1:01] I think somebody just set it right up and planted it on poor old Ray Kotiff and he was embarrassed as hell.
[1:06] I suppose the Secret Service in the interrogation last night found out whether that's the case or not.
[1:13] Well, I don't know.
[1:14] They have to be very careful to be sure that it doesn't mean that we're persecuting the bitch, but...
[1:18] I'll tell you, I don't know who it was that said throw her out, but Rose says it was Mulcahy.
[1:25] I wouldn't be surprised.
[1:27] But I think that was the only choice that he had, don't you think?
[1:30] Conniff had to get out because the audience was so cold.
[1:33] Very much so.
[1:36] I think he would have moved sooner on his own initiative, except that he was so shocked.
[1:42] I spoke to him briefly afterwards.
[1:46] He's a nice man.
[1:47] Yes, and he was absolutely shocked.
[1:51] admitted that he had fumbled it by going ahead with that first number without getting her out.
[1:58] I told him afterwards he was sort of mumbling something, and I says, look, I says, when people who come here, we're only interested in their music and not in their ideas.
[2:07] I said, don't you worry.
[2:09] I said, don't punish her.
[2:10] I said something like that.
[2:13] But I thought we got in one good crack, though, when I said, let's give a little hand for the Marines.
[2:19] The Marines, yeah, that covered it.
[2:20] Yeah.
[2:21] Yeah.
[2:22] What do they do with that television, Mr. President, those pictures they're taking there?
[2:28] Was that for the networks or what?
[2:29] I don't know.
[2:30] Well, I tell you, they didn't take pictures, John, of the latter part.
[2:35] I don't think.
[2:36] They took pictures of the presentation, but they did not take pictures of that.
[2:40] I see.
[2:41] I see.
[2:41] So they didn't have that.
[2:43] No problem about having that floating around on the air?
[2:46] No.
[2:46] No.
[2:47] Well, I don't think so.
[2:48] Oh, I don't think it does any harm if they do.
[2:49] What the hell?
[2:50] I mean, people tend to, you know, remember the Earthquake incident?
[2:54] They tend to line up, they just don't like bad manners, I don't think.
[2:58] I believe that to be true, and particularly when you point out when she doesn't have a single purpose, she's just all over the war.
[3:04] That's right.
[3:05] way anti-everything else.
[3:08] Well, she sure was.
[3:10] You tell Martha that when she does the tearing up that each of us wants a limb and you can have one.
[3:16] That's four.
[3:18] Okay.
[3:18] I will.