Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-029
Nixon phone call with Dent on Republican Governors and Spiro Agnew
Wednesday, February 2, 1972 · 2:14 PM–2:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Harry S. Dent discuss the positive reception among Republican governors following a recent briefing and their impressions of key party figures, including Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan. The two review political outreach strategies, specifically focusing on the administration’s efforts to engage black voters and the potential for Vice President Spiro Agnew to attend a California Republican Assembly meeting. They also exchange observations regarding the 1972 campaign landscape, including potential primary challengers such as George Wallace and Hubert Humphrey.
- 1972 Presidential Campaign
- Republican Governors
- Spiro Agnew
- Voter Outreach
- Political Strategy
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Hello.
Mr. Dent, sir.
Hello, Harry.
Yes, sir.
How are the governor's temperatures after?
Are they feeling pretty good?
Yes, sir.
I thought that was very well handled last night.
Well, they didn't all get the talk, but I, of course, got a good chance to talk to both Peterson and Cahill and Mescalow.
All of them are sitting at that table.
Right, sir.
And I think having the big boys talk that way, they all like to hear them, too.
And they did well, didn't they?
Rockefeller, Reagan.
Sure.
I, frankly, I don't know why Holton always has to bring up that thing about his kid, but otherwise, but I guess that's the thing.
With him, yes, it is.
Wasn't that Rockefeller surprising?
Yes, sir.
He was all out, wasn't he?
Yes, sir.
Well, they're all out, Mr. President.
I've found this from all these meetings I've had with them.
Well, you've been doing a fine job.
Incidentally, I want to tell you, you did a very good job in...
California Reagan was telling me it was a CRA or something.
Yes.
Thank you, sir.
That was good.
We're going to try to get Agnew to go out and do their meeting.
That's good.
You might, you might, I was sitting with Mitchell at the time, but you might call the vice president and tell him that you and I were chatting and that
that i that he'll hear it from other sources but that you've been out and then he'd get a hell of a welcome and it and that he ought to do it all right you know right mr president these governors that briefing we had for him yesterday with early one and kissinger and shoots yeah were now that was good for them uh they really got the cold cock and they got a chance to ask questions and make input and suggestions about the vat and all this other stuff
Sure.
And so that was good.
They didn't have that before I sent you that note, you see.
They didn't have that opportunity to have that.
Well, I knew they'd had that, and I knew that there wasn't anything I could add with those other fellows there.
Right, sir.
And also, I didn't want to get too darn partisan with Connolly there, you know.
Right, sir.
I didn't want him to be embarrassed.
As it turned out, it was fine.
Right, sir.
So uh...
That was, you really covered them.
You hit them right between the eyes with what you had to say.
That's good.
So they should have left in very, very good time.
Well, we started praying and ended playing.
That's right, sir.
Right.
That was very good yesterday morning, too, your appearance for the prayer breakfast.
Well, that's a good group, isn't it?
Yes, sir.
Those are fine, fine people.
Yes, sir.
I tried to, I had to get it out of the Christian context.
You know, we had Jewel in the program.
Right.
You notice our first speaker was talking about, this is a Christian country, which it is, but we...
Oh, boy.
That's fine.
NARA Description
On February 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Harry S. Dent talked on the telephone from 2:14 pm to 2:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-029 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 20-29
Date: February 2, 1972
Time: 2:14 pm - 2:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Harry S. Dent.
[See Conversation No. 318-22]
Governors' meeting
-Walter R. Peterson
-William T. Cahill
-Thomas J. Meskill
-Nelson A. Rockefeller
-Ronald W. Reagan
-Linwood Holton
-Rockefeller
-General attitudes
-Dent effort in California
-Reagan
-California Republican Assembly [CRA]
CRA
-Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
-John N. Mitchell
-Possible call from Dent
Governors' briefing
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Henry A. Kissinger
-George P. Shultz
-Benefits
-Input from Governors
-Value-added tax [VAT]
-Partisanship
-John B. Connally
**********************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 04/30/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[020-029-w001]
[Duration: 38s]
Election strategy
-Administration line
-50-state strategy
-Compared to President’s actual strategy
-Benefits of strategy
-Massachusetts and Michigan politicians
-William G. Milliken
-West Virginia
-Arch A. Moore, Jr.
-Polling beneficial to President
**********************************************************************
Prayer breakfast
-Christian context
-Guests
-The President’s efforts
**********************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 04/30/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[020-029-w002]
[Duration: 2m 19s]
President’s outreach to black voters
-Harry S. Dent view
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Potential Southern Black vote for President
-President’s speech for Robert J. Brown
-Audience reaction
-Sammy Davis, Jr.
-Comments on behalf of President
-Comments to Robert J. Brown
-Work on behalf of President’s re-election
-Benefit for Robert J. Brown
-Theme
-Praise for President
1972 campaign
-Florida primary
-George C. Wallace potential to win
-Harry S. Dent view
-Busing
-Hubert H. Humphrey potential to win
-Harry S. Dent view
-Richmond decision stance
-Henry M. (“Scoop”) Jackson potential to win
-Harry S. Dent view
-John V. Lindsay potential to win
-Impact of television appearance
-Effect on Edmund S. Muskie
-President’s Cuban supporters
-Registered Democrats
-Potential support for Hubert S. Humphrey
-In order to affect Democratic primary
**********************************************************************Also recorded on February 2, 1972
- 318-018 2:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:06 pm and 2:09 pm.
- 020-027 2:09 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 2:09 pm to 2:13 pm.
- 318-019 2:09 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 2:09 pm.
- 318-020 2:09 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:09 pm to 2:13 pm.
- 020-028 2:13 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:14 pm.
- 318-021 2:13 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:14 pm.
- 318-022 2:14 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Harry S. Dent met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:14 pm to 2:20 pm.
- 318-023 2:21 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:21 pm to 2:50 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 020-029, February 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-029 (accessed October 12, 2026).