Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 020-106
Date: Monday, February 28, 1972 at 10:52 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Kissinger, Henry A.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-106

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] I tell you what I think has happened on Taiwan.
[0:21] It's the goddamn Washington Post.
[0:23] Their headline, if you see it, is, Nixon agrees to withdraw from Taiwan.
[0:42] But Reagan says there is a little trouble out on the West Coast in some of their evening paper headlines.
[0:46] But he said he never doubted for a minute.
[0:47] He read the computer case.
[0:47] He said, hell, that's what the president told me he'd do.
[0:48] He said, it's constitutional.
[0:49] This is our policy.
[0:49] That's the Nixon talk.
[0:50] And he said, you have to remember, he was giving me courage.
[0:51] He said, you have to remember the president will be dying all week long.
[0:53] Oh, he did, huh?
[0:55] Yeah, and he said he had heard what she said tonight.
[1:06] He said that's terrific.
[1:08] Oh, he heard the speech?
[1:10] Yeah.
[1:11] He said he was proud of you.
[1:11] He said the only other thing that he would suggest is that he planned a question for Ziegler tomorrow, saying, well, what about the defense?
[1:17] And he would say, as Dr. Kirchner said in Shanghai, as the president said yesterday,
[1:20] No, the Defense Commitment still stands, and that's been asked.
[1:33] Is that all right?
[1:34] Yes.
[1:34] Okay, good.
[1:34] But I think you should take it just a tiny bit easier.
[1:35] It's a good statement to these guys.
[1:36] To the leaders.
[1:36] Oh, don't worry.
[1:37] I've covered it.
[1:39] I'm going to let you and Rogers say what you want.
[1:46] Now, Barry Goldwater, I talked to, was a little more difficult.
[1:47] He said, let's make sure you explain this properly tomorrow morning to the leaders.
[1:49] And I'm having breakfast with him on Wednesday.
[2:09] And I think they're going to get him.
[2:09] Well, he's, of course, Buckley's working on it.
[2:10] Buckley's working on it.
[2:11] Actually, I have to say, in his legacy, Jim Buckley called him this morning, trying to get him out of the way.
[2:14] And he said, no, I believe that the president... You think maybe Jim Buckley's lost?
[2:16] I don't think so, no.
[2:17] He knows, to put it more fairly...
[2:17] Jim Buckley asked him what he, Reagan, thought he would say.
[2:34] And he said, just say that the president, that he said, you are sure the president is not defying the defense.
[2:38] We said it tonight, what the hell do you mean?
[2:39] All said.
[2:40] Okay.
[2:40] Reagan congratulated you.
[2:55] He said it was one of the greatest weeks of your time as president.
[3:02] He was something.
[3:03] And Nancy, who's got a hell of a lot more brains than he has, was equally as confused.
[3:04] She was, huh?
[3:05] Yeah.
[3:05] Well, of course, Reagan can see it in terms of the political impact, can't he?
[3:06] Yeah.
[3:07] The television impact, huh?
[3:07] That's right.
[3:07] He said you had a great pilot last week, and I think he thinks you can run as he can tell you to do that.
[3:10] OK. Well, good, Henry.
[3:13] Fine.
[3:14] So I really think the call reacted a little bit too strongly to be what it was supposed to be.
[3:20] Well, there was some radio and early wires, you know.
[3:24] And also, let's face it, Buckley had Spider-Man.
[3:31] Well, he made a damn mistake and he died.
[3:32] We really did.
[3:32] Because he's been supercilious and nasty and hard to deal with.
[3:38] There were a lot of colors to touch with Ezra if he hadn't been in it.
[3:39] Right.
[3:44] I don't know how to handle him, except to have nothing to do with him from now on.
[3:54] What do you think?
[3:54] Well, I may try to talk to him, but I think one less concern is no chance of taking an opponent.
[3:56] Never take your enemies.
[3:57] I've told Haldeman that a dozen times.
[4:02] Because you only give them empirical information.
[4:04] Yeah.
[4:04] Buchanan was the one that pushed him.
[4:08] And you know Hague is about his...
[4:10] hard lines you can get.
[4:16] This is one of the great diplomatic revolutions.
[4:20] Now, one other interesting thing.
[4:21] Last week, I didn't want to bother you there with things.
[4:23] The Russian sent us a message sort of saying, you know, what's going on.
[4:44] He's criticizing us.
[4:45] He's criticizing us.
[4:46] I sent back a message this evening saying, you know, make it fire down.
[4:47] You know, we are serious about this.
[4:48] We're going to take off with you.
[4:49] Yeah.
[4:49] And from that day on, there hasn't been any hostile artists.
[4:50] And so far, it's coming, you know, in a very factual way.
[4:54] Well, I think on this meeting with Sabrina, it's probably worth it if you would bring him in for a minute.
[5:09] I just think it's just a good little touch.
[5:11] My frank opinion is to do it after, not right this minute.
[5:15] Why?
[5:15] Because I'm worried that these pictures may just get it back to the Chinese that you saw Sabrina drive.
[5:17] Fine, fine, fine.
[5:18] But you can see.
[5:20] Oh, I'll see if any of them have something.
[5:21] Mm-hmm.
[5:22] And then you tell him, though, because he may say, well, the President doesn't want to see you, because prior to the trip, Mr.
[5:31] Ambassador, the President wants to have a good, off-the-record talk with you to get your advice.
[5:37] How about that?
[5:38] Something like that.
[5:39] And then say, we'll say to you, and maybe we'll set it up for a little dinner, a little private dinner.
[5:45] Let's do it that way.
[5:49] Well, my point is,
[5:50] hang that out there, and then he can report to his government.
[5:59] He's going to be seeing the president to have a talk.
[6:03] Okay.
[6:03] Okay, boy.
[6:04] Get some rest.
[6:04] You ought to feel pretty good.
[6:04] Right, I will.
[6:05] You did it well.
[6:05] Yeah, well, we...
[6:05] It's funny because that's me.
[6:06] You know, for Rogers, he'll...
[6:08] I think you're right.
[6:09] He'll be for this now that it's public.
[6:11] That public reaction out there, I mean, that... We didn't stack that job that much.
[6:17] Oh, hell, they were some demonstrators.
[6:18] Yeah.
[6:18] Oh, sure.
[6:18] Thank you.
[6:19] The other hand, they were with us.
[6:26] Those people were cheering.
[6:28] They started to clap from the plane rover, you know, before we even landed.
[6:33] That cabinet, which has, which, if things were at all tough, they would certainly, they've never yet been out of ground, but things were tough.
[6:43] They were in exodus.
[6:47] And Elliot Richardson, who's a sophisticated guy, says this is a diplomatic masterstroke, that the Munich day was deferred.
[7:08] He sees it.
[7:08] Why the hell didn't Bill see it?
[7:08] God damn it, I don't understand it.
[7:09] Because he doesn't have that sort of a... You understand?
[7:13] He doesn't have it.
[7:14] And that poor damn Green was taking it on.
[7:15] He's done it on everything.
[7:15] He's not...
[7:16] Reagan is really, but he was all right.
[7:26] But would you ask him to make a statement?
[7:31] I want him to make a statement.
[7:34] Okay.