Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 24 › Conversation 024-024

Nixon, Haldeman & Colson on Vietnam War and Naval blockade

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 10:23 PM–10:42 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation024-024 on Tape 24 (tape position 00:24:09–00:30:12)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 10:23 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 10:42 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-024 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman and Charles Colson discuss the overwhelmingly positive public reception to President Nixon’s announcement of a naval blockade in Vietnam. They review the success of recent administration messaging and coordinate media appearances to ensure a firm, unified stance, while expressing concern over Secretary of State William P. Rogers's tendency to downplay the policy. Additionally, they decide to pressure Western Union regarding reports that citizens are unable to send telegrams of support to the White House due to service disruptions.

Audio

Download MP3 · 8.3 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Very delighted.
Colson, please.
Yeah.
People understand that when you do something.
They're putting him on.
Thank you.
Hello.
Bob, Chuck.
Hi, Bob.
How are you going?
Well, I'm overwhelmed by the reaction, which is...
Overwhelmed why?
Well, because I think it's a hell of a lot more positive than I expected.
More positive than you thought?
Yeah.
I thought we'd get a lot of weak knees who would say, oh, my God, what are we getting ourselves into?
I mean, when the people you're pushing for support, you're not having any trouble pushing them.
Not at all.
Jesus, we're getting a very, very enthusiastic reaction.
is that is that more than just the right wing types yeah yeah i mean well hit this i'm reading college presidents i can't believe my eyes yeah and i saw some of those college presidents and they're they're willing to line up yep and sending telegrams you know several of them qualifying it saying i'm sending it as an individual the labor guys are just having orgasms you know jesse calvin called me and he really wants to enlist and that kind of a
Okay, well, be sure we enlist him now.
Get him to start the labor guys.
The hardhat march is...
He wants to go back into the military, is what he said.
Calhoun wants to enlist in the military.
But there's a...
I think there are these overriding feelings from what I'm getting.
Good.
One, tremendous support, a little feeling of caution, you know, maybe just a thread in there of a little nervousness.
But overwhelming support.
The second thing which is coming through is the only option he had.
What else could he have done?
And third, the sincerity.
This man is really just trying so hard.
So the sincerity still shows through.
They don't think he's... No.
The sincerity is the strong theme.
Good.
I think we're going to be fine.
We came out of that cabinet meeting beautifully with everybody just roaring to go.
And Elliot's agreed to go on TV.
We got Rush on in the morning.
Is Rush doing today, tomorrow?
Yes.
Good.
Instead of Buchanan?
Right.
Good.
Yeah, because Buchanan would have just...
Right.
Well, Pat called and volunteered that.
I know.
So it was fine.
And we got Rush in there instead.
Good.
We've got Roger's briefing tomorrow, which, of course, Hague is worried about.
Yeah, I am, too.
And we've got to work on that.
But that's not until 3.
No, and I can switch that.
I mean, I can just put Bill off the hook.
I'm not sure you can.
If you can't, we'll decide that in the morning, but that's something we ought to think about.
It may be that we ought to... Would you notice how much stronger he got during the cabinet meeting after Elliott spoke and others?
Yeah, but the problem is he's obsessed with having explained this isn't a blockade and we aren't really going to hurt anybody and it doesn't really mean anything and all that.
That's exactly 180 degrees wrong.
I agree.
The line here has got to be this is a blockade.
We're going to kick the shit out of them.
They've had it.
Yeah, that's right.
We can't apologize.
We can't back down or back off.
Well, maybe if Moore goes with him.
I'm not sure Moore is any better.
Really?
Well, he gets into all the technicalities of how many decibels it takes to detonate the mines and all that crap.
Laird's better, and Rush would be better.
Let's watch Rush tomorrow morning on TV.
He may be one we want to use.
Because Rush believes in this way down to the core.
Well, we can easily, you know, we can juggle it.
We've got it set up for three and...
You got any reading on telegrams at all?
Just the guy who called me from Vermont and said, Jesus Christ, we can't get into the Western Union.
Okay, well, now it's time to start hitting Western Union.
Let's get the president up out of bed.
and tell him that we're getting calls from all over the country now that his goddamn offices won't take the telegrams and that we're going to make a national scandal out of it, that they pulled this before and, you know, just scare the shit out of him.
All right.
It is a shame.
They'll probably have to lose their franchise and we'll have to get some new method of communication.
We're rapidly getting a new method.
It's a damn shame, Bob, because a lot of the... Well, it's the same old story, but now's the time to start busting them on that.
Yeah, well, we will.
And get that story out.
And tell the people, any people that call complaining they can't send telegrams, tell them to call their local paper and TV station and say they can't get through to Western Union.
As a matter of fact, I can get that story played out very strong.
Good.
That's the one to start moving out.
But we ought to now get the head of Western Union.
We've waited long enough now.
I'll call him.
That we can put the heat on that.
Yeah, because I have that from Vermont, but I also have it from... Jesse Kelvin said he tried to.
No, I just got... Bebe just said a lady that he'd never heard of just called him and said she couldn't get through to Western Union, so she was calling him.
Of course, they can't get in our switchboard either.
The only calls I've gotten have been on the direct lines into the office.
Is our board jammed?
Oh, totally.
Is it?
Totally.
Good.
Well, Ron knows that.
Yep.
And we put the full load of operators on, so there's no... it's no light...
Well, as of 20 minutes ago, the last call I had, the guy said he'd been trying the switchboard for half an hour and finally found my four-digit number, so he was able to call in direct.
What's your own personal view on it?
My own personal view?
Yeah.
Marvelous.
About as well, well, it's so hard when you're so goddamn close to it, but he's never been any better in delivery.
You like the delivery.
Yeah, I loved it.
The rhetoric was very, very good.
He didn't overstate or oversell.
He
I think he hit it right on the target.
Hit it right on, okay.
And very firm.
He suggests you check with Harris and Sindlinger and get a reading from them.
All right.
What they think.
Sindlinger, I've been getting them from all day.
I sent you over one.
Yeah, but I mean after tonight.
Right, right.
I'll get both of them.
See what their personal views were.
Yep.
Okay.
And then call back over here.
Love Stone, okay.
You'll be fine.
I'll call you back.
Okay.
All right.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:23 pm and 10:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-024 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-24

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:23 pm and 10:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the White House operator; Haldeman conferred with the
President before the conversation began.

[See also Conversation No. 336-69H]

     Request for a call to Charles W. Colson

Haldeman conferred with the President at an unknown time.

[See Conversation No. 336-69]

[End of conferral]

Haldeman talked with Colson at an unknown time.

     Vietnam

-Blockade
     -The President's announcement
          -Public reaction
                -Colson’s view
                -Nature
                -Enthusiasm
                      -College presidents
                -Telegrams
                -Labor leaders
                      -Enthusiasm
                      -Jesse Calhoon
                -Caution
                -Support for the President
                -The President's sincerity
          -Cabinet meeting
          -Television appearances
                -Elliot L. Richardson
                -[David] Kenneth Rush
                -Patrick J. Buchanan
                      -Television
                -William P. Rogers's briefing
                      -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.'s concerns
                      -Time
                            -Changes
          -Cabinet meeting
                -Rogers
                      -Stance
                            -Richardson
                            -Haldeman’s view
                      -Thomas H. Moorer's presence
                -Melvin R. Laird
                -Rush
                      -Television appearance
                            -Advantages
          -Public response
                -Telegrams
                      -Value
                      -Western Union
                            -Request for a call to president of company
                            -Haldeman’s view
                            -Service available

                                      -Alternatives
                                            -Calls to local papers and television stations
                                -Pressure on Western Union
                                -Experiences
                                      -Calhoon and Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
                           -White House switchboard
                                -Calls
                                      -Number
                                      -Ronald L. Ziegler
                     -Colson's analysis
                           -Delivery
                           -Rhetoric
                     -Polls
                           -Louis P. Harris
                           -Albert E. Sindlinger
                     -Jay Lovestone

Also recorded on May 9, 1972

  • 024-020 10:00 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:00 pm and 10:04 pm.
  • 024-021 10:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:04 pm to 10:06 pm.
  • 024-022 10:23 PM · 9 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:23 pm and 10:42 pm.
  • 024-023 10:23 PM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:23 pm and 10:42 pm.
  • 024-025 10:23 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:23 pm and 10:42 pm.
  • 024-026 10:42 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and [David] Kenneth Rush talked on the telephone from 10:42 pm to 10:45 pm.
  • 024-027 10:45 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:45 pm and 10:47 pm.
  • 024-028 10:47 PM · 41 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and George Meany talked on the telephone from 10:47 pm to 10:48 pm.

All 96 conversations from May 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-024, May 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-024 (accessed October 17, 2026).