Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 23 › Conversation 023-140

Nixon phone call with Connally on J. Edgar Hoover and Funeral

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 3:43 PM–3:46 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.Conversation023-140 on Tape 23StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 3:43 PMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 3:46 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 023-140 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John B. Connally discussed the recent death of J. Edgar Hoover, including the President's upcoming eulogy and concerns regarding Lyndon B. Johnson's health if he were to attend the funeral. The conversation touched upon the successful reception of the President's recent trip to Texas and various administrative gestures, such as thank-you correspondence and offers of White House hospitality to associates. Finally, Nixon requested Connally's private political counsel regarding the upcoming U.S.-Soviet summit, tasking H.R. Haldeman with facilitating the consultation.

Audio

Download MP3 · 6.9 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Yes, sir.
Well, I just wanted you to know I got back from Texas.
Well, I've been a little tied up, and I want to have a talk with you perhaps tomorrow, but I was going to say that
you know we've got a lot of problems these days and of course on top of all Edgar Hoover died so I'm giving a eulogy tomorrow I'm going to make it very brief so I think frankly I would hope the cabinet would come I think they probably ought to but yes sir I sure think they should we were all up there this morning you went to the thing up there yes sir I presented the wreath the presidential wreath this morning great I didn't go because I thought that the congress should have its own show up there well you know I had to do one I had to do
one or the other, and I felt that I should do the church.
I agree with that, certainly.
And the Chief Justice did it this morning, didn't he?
Yes, sir.
He delivered the unity.
It was brief, but very nice.
Yeah.
Very nice.
Well, he's been quite a guy, hasn't he?
Yes, sir, he has.
And it's really interesting, you know, John, through the years, I call Johnson
tried to get him before the announcement of death and he was out riding again but i got him the minute after i had made it and he appreciated it because he was rather close to hoover's you know we got word up there mistakenly this morning and he was coming up here and i guess he might try to be here tomorrow maybe for the funeral but i don't know i've not talked to him word was out in the rotunda that he was going to be there this morning
Yeah.
I couldn't believe it, but Fishbabe Miller told me, and I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll have Rose give him a call and see if they'd like to come stay in Blair House if they want, if he's coming.
No, he shouldn't come, though, God darn it.
He really shouldn't come.
No, the heck with it.
He really should not come.
No, no, he shouldn't because, incidentally.
Oh.
When a fellow's had a heart attack going to a funeral, it's the last thing you ought to do.
I think that's right.
And he really shouldn't.
He really should not.
No, sir.
No, sir.
Well, Mr. President, to tell you how pleased and exhilarated all the guests were is impossible.
You just can't imagine the reaction.
I haven't talked to all of them, obviously.
Do you think we made the right decision over Alan Shiver?
No question about it.
Yeah, well.
They're all moaning now.
They just said, oh, God, I don't know why we didn't ask him about China.
Yeah.
And, you know, they just say, we just wish we could have had a little more time, but we know he just...
Couldn't talk about everything.
But you think we did the right thing?
Absolutely.
No doubt about it.
It's unanimous.
It was a ten strike.
It really was.
Well, I'm glad we did it, John, because they were very important people.
I've done two or three things, incidentally.
First of all, I wrote C.R.
Smith, and I've sent you a copy.
Good.
I am displaying the gift in the Oval Office, you know, on the table over there.
So it'll be on display there for a month.
And then we're going to display it in the White House.
So we only do the nice things like that.
So I told him that.
I'm sending a booklet over today that was published by the Metropolitan Museum at the time of their exhibition in 1950 of outstanding American and European glass, which contains a picture of this particular piece.
Oh, great.
You'll have that for your archives and for the record.
Also, I had Rose call O'Connor.
And because I wanted him to be very free to talk and to invite him and his wife to go to California.
Herb Kambach will open the house for them and they could spend all their time browsing around, looking at the things, talking to the decorator, anything they want.
He may not want to go, but I just thought we'd offer it to him.
That's extremely thoughtful.
He will really appreciate it.
But most important, I wrote a letter to your daughter and her classes.
Wow.
That's great.
Your daughter-in-law, I mean.
Daughter-in-law.
Well, that's wonderful.
She's a pretty thing.
She really is, and she is a sweet little...
The Connellys are pretty good pickers.
Well, we try to be.
Yeah.
We got one to go yet.
We'll see what he does.
Yeah, say that young fellow.
How old is he?
He's 19.
He's a fine, big-looking boy.
A good-looking boy.
He's a good kid.
Yeah.
What's he studying?
Well, right now...
He doesn't know yet.
He's in business school, just studying finance.
He wants to be a broker.
He wants to be a financial... Good.
Enter the financial field.
Good.
He's good.
That way he can get in a little sooner in 19.
What about the draft?
Well, he'll be out of it.
He got a very high... Ah, good.
Well, that's one good thing he gave me credit for, you know.
So you tell him now.
I'll tell him to give you credit.
You don't need credit with him.
You already ran pretty high with everybody but me.
Well, we had a great time, and I just did appreciate it so much.
Kind to say so.
And we're giving some...
thought to the Soviet summit at the moment.
I want to talk to you about it, Archer.
I may have, if you've got a little time this afternoon, I'm working on this eulogy.
I may have Bob come over and talk to you in great confidence about the thing and give your coldest political judgment on it, will you?
Archer.
Archer.
All right.
And then I'd like to talk to you tomorrow about it.
Archer.
All right.
Thank you.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 3:43 pm to 3:46 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 023-140 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 23-140

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: 3:43-3:46 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with John B. Connally.

[See also Conversation No. 335-19]

     The President's return from Texas

     J. Edgar Hoover
           -Death
                -The President's eulogy
                -Funeral
                     -Cabinet
                -Congressional eulogy
                     -Wreath
                -Church service
                -Warren E. Burger’s eulogy
          -Career
          -The President's call to Lyndon B. Johnson
                -Johnson's trip to funeral
                     -William M. (“Fishbait”) Miller
                     -Rose Mary Woods's call
                           -Blair House
                     -Johnson's health

     The President's trip to Texas
          -Reaction of guests
               -Allan Shivers
          -Value

     A Gift
          -Cyrus R. Smith
          -Display in White House
                -The President's letter
          -An item of glass
                -Book
          -Smith
                -Trip to California
                     -The President's offer
                          -Woods
                          -Tom O'Connor and wife
                          -Herbert W. Kalmbach

     Connally's daughter-in-law
         -The President's letter
         -Son
                -Age
                -Appearance
                -Study area in school
                     -Aspirations
                -Draft
                     -Number
                -Support for the President

     US-Soviet Union relations
         -Summit
               -Meeting with the President
               -Connally's views
                    -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

  • 023-139 3:35 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:35 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 335-019 3:43 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:43 pm and 3:46 pm.
  • 023-141 3:48 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 3:48 pm.
  • 023-142 3:48 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:48 pm and 3:49 pm.
  • 335-020 3:48 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:48 pm.
  • 335-021 3:48 PM · 14 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 3:48 pm and 3:49 pm.
  • 023-143 3:49 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger talked on the telephone from 3:49 pm to 3:53 pm.
  • 335-022 3:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:49 pm and 3:53 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 023-140, May 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/023-140 (accessed October 10, 2026).