Nixon phone call with Colson on ITT controversy and China trip

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Well, yeah.

Good evening, Mr. President.

Well, I've just been checking everything.

I think there's nothing much of a problem except our good friends, the IT&P.

But I wouldn't worry too much about it.

It's my God.

I mean, the point is, I mean, I saw the Baltimore Sun, Codrear.

Codrear's case, yeah.

The worst scandal in 100 years, for Christ's sakes.

Who was Codrear?

He must be crazy.

That's a very extreme statement.

He's written some very bad stuff on us before.

Well, the whole part is that this doesn't have anything to do with Clyde East or Mitchell.

Oh, hell no.

It has nothing to do with political contribution.

It has to do with

Something that has to do with the goddamn convention, which we didn't care beans about.

In fact, my preference was Chicago.

Well, not only that, but what it is is underwriting the commitment of the city.

We couldn't care less.

It's a Bob Wilson production.

The whole thing is a phony.

The unhappy part of it, Mr. President, just looking at it realistically is... Well, it was the kind of thing you couldn't get a hold of.

I worked night and day with Mitchell starting Thursday when we got wind of what was happening.

Oh no, he told everything.

Oh hell, that he knew, but it was just that a hell of a lot of different players in the act, ITT people, they write internal memos, and those start floating out.

Well, forget it.

It'll pass.

I remember Henry a month ago was worried about the Anderson paper.

I said, forget it.

I said, within a month, forget it.

Who the hell remembers the Anderson papers in India, Pakistan?

Well, we may counterattack on this one.

I learned something this afternoon that it looks like the memo...

was asked for by Jack Anderson, and if we can ever establish that.

Well, the woman, of course, is a total bitch.

I've known her, known her, of her for years.

I've never met her except once or twice socially, but I imagine she's been at every Republican fundraiser.

Yeah, that's right.

That's what I met.

That's the only time I've ever met her.

It's a real hanger-on.

But a great... A loyal gal.

Sure.

A loyal gal who...

Just, you know, she did what every lobbyist does.

She saw John Mitchell for two minutes and said, I had lunch with him.

She had some internal problems at IT&T, and she also had some psychiatric problems.

It'll pass.

The thing we've got to do is knock it down because, you know, it's been interesting since you returned from China.

There hasn't been a single point of attack.

with either the Democrats or the media.

So they're seizing on them.

Gained by the Washington Post and NBC.

That's right.

And we so block them out of any issues.

Well, they've got to be on something.

So we'll let them have this one, and then we'll turn it around to our advantage.

I read Harris's memo.

I thought that was very interesting, that he saw it in terms of the personal, which is

You see, whatever happens, we're going to have some arguments with the Chinese, you know.

Oh, sure.

They're going to disagree with us about Taiwan and about Vietnam and the rest.

But that isn't the point.

The main point is that we ever got through this personal image.

People, you know, Khrushchev could bang his shoe on the table and nobody blamed Eisenhower.

That's right.

No, I think that's coming through.

Is that what you think Harris is saying?

That's what Harris is saying, and that's what I get as the lasting impact of the trip.

I think the...

Still, people talk about the way you handled yourself, and you still hear from people that Democrats were converted by.

And, of course, you look at what happened at the Becker poll this weekend, the public approval of the way you handled the trip in China, 72% of New Hampshire approved, which is a phenomenally high percentage.

And, obviously, our standing up there increased during the period you were there.

And the weekend you came back.

So it has had a hell of a...

Tell me this, on the economic front, the market is rolling in.

Well, it's going like gangbusters, Mr. President.

Now, what was the all-time high?

970-something, wasn't it, or 980?

Is it up to 970?

I think so.

Late 68?

Late 68, I believe.

This is the second time.

We want to get beyond that.

But we're over 950 today.

That's right.

And that's the highest since 71.

That's the highest since that little peak up.

It was 951.

We're within a tenth of a point of where it was in that last surge in 71.

I want to make that New York Times story.

It's 935, so it's far below what it started.

That's right.

Well, I tell you, it's an interesting thing.

I talked to the First National Bank of Boston today, and there is no more conservative financial institution.

Oh, I know.

I know that.

They said there's a real boom psychology setting in.

It's a people's market.

Is it?

Great.

That all the economic figures out of Washington are now really encouraging.

And they see a sustained rise.

They see it going over 1,000.

All right.

Bill Donaldson in New York I talked to.

He said this is a sustained push.

But this 21 million today was not institutions, John.

No, it's public.

And that's the point.

Donaldson said that the institutions are still not liquid because they haven't had a flow of, for a lot of reasons, they haven't had a flow of people in fresh capital.

But it's little people coming in.

20 million has been the volume every day.

Boy, the stockbrokers must be happy.

Have you talked to Reagan?

I haven't talked to him, no.

Give him a call tomorrow.

I'll call him tomorrow.

He's a damn good parameter.

How do you analyze?

Yes, I'll do it.

He's a good one.

Because he must be doing well.

Oh, hell, I'm sure they're all the biggest broke.

They're all raking in the day.

Jesus Christ.

Well, that's right.

They can't help but make money.

But it's interesting, Mr. President, that the little people are coming back in.

And, of course, the figures, you probably haven't seen Herb Stein's new figures on plant and equipment.

Yeah, I read them today.

It's damn bullish.

Even he said it was bullish.

Oh, yeah.

Got manufacturer's orders up 6%, the durable goods 9%.

He pointed that up.

And the plant and equipment plant.

indicated three positive factors i would never see this crack if you get it from the sign sign places negative too but when it is positive he doesn't he's afraid of things well last thursday morning at the 8 15 meeting kerb said my god he said it's all coming at once he said i and i just wrote a memo for the president saying that i didn't think we were going to make our goals i know i just read that today too and he said i think i maybe wrote it too soon he said the manufacturers

shipments, the plant and equipment survey.

What is the real thing?

I don't think our figures are correct.

What is it?

Oh, yes.

God, he's coming down here tomorrow to talk to the Coastal Living Council.

I'll tell you what, bring him in.

All right.

Wouldn't that be nice?

He'd love it.

I just put him on the list for the Turkish state dinner, if you want.

That's fine.

The state dinner is fine.

All right.

I'd like to meet him.

I don't know whether Connolly talked to you about him.

Connolly was fascinated with the poet.

Yeah, I know.

But I'd like to meet him.

So work it in sometime.

All right.

Good.

That's excellent.

What did he say?

Oh, he said it's just going up.

Of course...

He told me two weeks ago, he said, if you were trading, he said, now's the time to trade in the market.

It's time to start up.

Does he have any reaction to China?

He's doing a political poll, and I...

Yes, he asked the questions about public recognition and what they think of it.

Nixon phone call with Colson on ITT controversy and China trip

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on March 7, 1972

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