Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 22 › Conversation 022-016

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Interest rates and Prime rate

Friday, March 24, 1972 · 1:28 PM–1:29 PM ET · White House Telephone · 51 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation022-016 on Tape 22 (tape position 00:52:08–00:53:00)StartFriday, March 24, 1972 at 1:28 PMEndFriday, March 24, 1972 at 1:29 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 022-016 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417192999 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the administration's strategic response to a recent increase in the prime interest rate. Conveying advice from John B. Connally, Haldeman suggested that the administration publicly criticize the banks' justification for the hike, which cited anticipation of future demand. Nixon agreed with this stance, emphasizing that the rate increase was premature and that the administration preferred to see interest rates decline.

Audio

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NARA Description

On March 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 1:28 pm to 1:29 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 022-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 22-16

Date: March 24, 1972
Time: 1:28 pm - 1:29 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Call from H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

Haldeman talked with the President between 1:28 pm and 1:29 pm.

[See Conversation No. 326-19B]

     Interest rates
           -[John B. Connally’s] advice
                 -Link with demand
           -Administration’s views
           -Prime rate
                 -Statement
                 -Increase
                       -Reasons

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Mr. Haldeman, sir.
Yeah.
There you are.
Hello.
Yeah.
He says that if you want to take it strong, which he thinks you should, that you should say from the ticker reports you've seen, they say they're doing this in anticipation of increased demand.
This is a poor justification for raising rates, that they should wait until the demand develops.
We're still concerned about interest rates.
We'd like to see them go down instead of up.
That's right.
Apparently, the statement they put out, they said they were raising the prime rate in anticipation of increased demand.
Okay.
And he thinks that's not a... they should wait until they get it and then raise it.
Good.
Okay.

Also recorded on March 24, 1972

  • 022-013 12:54 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 12:54 pm to 1:12 pm.
  • 326-016 12:54 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:54 pm to 1:12 pm.
  • 022-014 1:12 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:16 pm.
  • 326-017 1:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:16 pm.
  • 022-015 1:16 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:16 pm to 1:17 pm.
  • 326-018 1:16 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:16 pm to 1:17 pm.
  • 326-019 1:24 PM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:24 pm to 2:00 pm.
  • 022-017 1:29 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:29 pm and 2:05 pm.

All 35 conversations from March 24, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 022-016, March 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417192999). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/022-016 (accessed November 2, 2026).