Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 24 › Conversation 024-033

Haldeman & Graham on Vietnam War and Naval blockade

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 10:52 PM–11:22 PM ET · White House Telephone ·4 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  Graham, William F. ("Billy")Conversation024-033 onTape 24 (tape position 00:38:01–00:42:22)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 10:52 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 11:22 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-033 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman and Billy Graham discussed the public and international reception of President Nixon's recent announcement regarding a naval blockade of North Vietnam. Graham praised the President’s decisive action, expressing confidence that it would galvanize the American public despite anticipated protests. To counter expected opposition, Graham committed to publicly voicing his strong support for the administration during his upcoming press conferences in Memphis and Birmingham.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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There you are.
Billy?
Just a second.
Thank you.
Hello.
Billy?
Yes, sir.
Bob Holliman.
Yeah, Bob.
You want him to get tough.
Well, boy, he laid it on the line.
My wife said, whoopee, amen, and all that.
Really, I thought that should have been done really five or six years ago.
And I think he laid it on the line, and I think that the American people are going to back him.
You do feel so?
They're going to be squeals and they're going to be demonstrations and all the rest of it.
But if he'll ride it out and stick to his guns...
He will.
There's no question about that.
I think that there'll be no problem.
I think that's what the American people want.
I think it's going to give the American people a sense of pride.
And they're just sick and tired of being beaten around and knocked around out in Vietnam.
I think that's absolutely right.
You think the case came over all right?
Oh, my.
He was just tremendous.
Good.
And, of course, afterward, the reporters hardly knew how to handle it.
Really?
I didn't get to see that.
Yeah, I watched CBS for a while and then I watched NBC.
Yeah.
And they weren't very critical.
I see.
That's interesting.
They didn't rake them over the cold like they usually do.
I see.
Threw them off balance pretty much, I think.
I think it threw them off balance.
We're getting a fantastic response here.
We can't do our usual checking because the phone thing is all jammed up here.
I think we're going to get an enormous response because there seems to be a tremendous around-the-country kind of thing.
We don't usually have... We always get a lot of
A lot of our own supporters, but there seems to be much more than that.
And I was very interested to hear the report from London that they figured that the British were going to back him.
Oh, really?
And they said the French might not take any attitude.
They said they thought the Germans would back him.
And they felt the Moscow trip might be in jeopardy, but it might not be.
Hmm.
All right.
We just have to wait and see what they decide to do.
That's right.
But I think he's taken the only course that was open to him.
And I think we've got to maintain the honor and the dignity of America.
Well, our key thing now is for the American people to realize that and back him because, as you know, the...
on the hill are going to all squeal, and we've just got to ride that out.
The big thing, Bob, is to get it over with as quick as possible.
Right.
Right.
I mean, he's got to hit quick and hit hard.
Right.
And get it over with.
And if we can get this thing over with by July so that these North Vietnamese people are suing for peace, then there'll be no problem.
Right.
I think you hit it on the head tonight.
Good.
And it's the first time, really, that I sort of felt like I was an American.
Great.
Well, that's good.
Since he made the speech on the economic crisis a year or two ago.
Yeah.
And I think there are going to be a lot of people feel that way.
Good.
Well, I hope so.
There'll be demonstrations.
There'll be all kinds of things.
Well, we've just got to counter that with the evidence of support on the other side.
That's right.
And get that silent majority cranking again.
If they'll speak up, they can drown the others out.
Well, I'll hold a press conference, let's see, day after tomorrow in Memphis and one on Friday in Birmingham, Alabama.
And I'll come out real strong.
Great.
Just my small part of it.
No, that's not small.
But I'll do my best.
Very good, sir.
Okay.
Okay, Billy.
Thanks for calling.
Thank you, sir.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and William F. ("Billy") Graham talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-033 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-33

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with William F. (“Billy”) Graham.

[See also Conversation No. 336-69T]

     Greetings

     Vietnam
          -Blockade
               -The President’s announcement
                    -Ruth Graham's response
                    -Graham's views
                    -Public support
                    -Problems
                    -Public support for the President
                    -Impact
                    -Reporters' commentary
                           -Tenor
                           -Columbia Broadcasting System [CBS]
                           -National Broadcasting Corporation [NBC]
                    -Public response
                           -Telephone calls
                    -Reports from London
                           -British
                           -French
                           -Germans
               -Effect of speech on Soviet Union trip
               -Graham's opinion

                -Public support
                -End of war
                -The President's speeches
                     -Graham's opinion
                     -Public support
                     -Opposition
                     -Graham's press conferences
                           -Support for the President

Also recorded on May 9, 1972

  • 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.
  • 024-029 10:49 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward R. F. Cox talked on the telephone from 10:49 pm to 10:52 pm.
  • 024-030 10:52 PM · 8 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 024-031 10:52 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 024-032 10:52 PM · 20 sec — the White House operator and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 024-034 10:52 PM · 4 min — Charles W. Colson and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 024-035 10:52 PM · 53 sec — Charles W. Colson and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.
  • 024-036 10:52 PM · 23 sec — Lawrence M. Higby and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:22 pm.

All 96 conversations from May 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-033, 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/024-033 (accessed September 18, 2026).