Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 24 › Conversation 024-153
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on John B. Connally and Resignation
Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 3:50 PM–3:58 PM ET · White House Telephone
AI Summary
President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discussed the strategic management of John Connally's resignation, focusing on controlling press narratives through coordinated Cabinet statements and a highly publicized walk to the Treasury Department. The conversation also addressed mounting political challenges in the Senate regarding Vietnam policy, specifically analyzing Republican defections on the Byrd and Case-Church amendments. Nixon and Haldeman assessed the potential electoral impact of these votes and deliberated on internal messaging tactics ahead of the President’s upcoming summit in the Soviet Union.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 28.2 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:39:14 into the tape and ends around 03:47:43.
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 3:50 pm to 3:58 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-153 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 24-153
Date: May 16, 1972
Time: 3:50 pm -3:58 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
The President's schedule
-Meeting with Mexican delegates
-Length
-Haldeman’s view
-Next meeting
-Ray Bliss
-John Cardinal Krol
John B. Connally
-Departure from administration
-Meeting with the President
-Press stories
-Timing
-Speculation
-Statement to the Cabinet
-Support for the President's reelection
-The President's walk to Treasury Department
-Publicity
-Photographs
-Ronald L. Ziegler's efforts
-Publicity
Vietnam
-Vote in Senate on Robert C. Byrd amendment
-Margin
-Republican defections
-Charles H. Percy
-Richard S. Schweiker
-Charles McC. Mathias, Jr.
-John Sherman Cooper
-Percy
-The President’s view
-Administration plans
-Robert A. Taft, Jr.
-Administration support for supporters
-Polls
-Timing
-Percy
-Illinois
-Support for the President
-Taft
-Defection
-The President's telephone call
-The President's forthcoming trip to Soviet Union
-Timing of vote
-Clifford P. Case-Frank F. Church amendment
-Doves
-Support
-Administration opposition
-Supporters
-Filibuster
-Prospect for defeat
Connally's resignation
-Calls
-Cabinet
-The President's walk to Treasury Department
-Publicity
-Treasury
-George P. Shultz
-Confirmation by Senate
Senate
-Trip to New Orleans
The President's schedule
-A breakfast
-Cabinet meeting
-Timing of Soviet trip
-The President's return
-Notification
-Date
[Forename unknown] Brown
-Press workAlso recorded on May 16, 1972
- 024-152 1:22 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:22 pm and 3:50 pm.
- 024-154 3:58 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 3:59 pm.
- 024-155 3:59 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 3:59 pm to 4:10 pm.
- 725-035 4:58 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Clark MacGregor, David C. Hoopes, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:58 pm and 5:05 pm.
- 725-036 5:05 PM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John N. Mitchell, Ray C. Bliss, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 5:40 pm.
- 725-037 5:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:40 pm and 5:43 pm.
- 725-038 5:43 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John Cardinal Krol, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:43 pm to 5:54 pm.
- 725-043 5:54 PM · 12 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:54 pm and 11:59 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 024-153, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-153 (accessed October 9, 2026).