Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 027-062
Date: Tuesday, July 25, 1972 at 5:45 PM
Participants: Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); MacGregor, Clark
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/027-062

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Mr. Howardman?
[0:01] Yeah.
[0:01] Mr. McGregor on the phone.
[0:03] Thank you.
[0:05] Clark?
[0:05] Yes, Bob.
[0:06] I just wanted to be sure, President, wanted to be sure that you've seen the Eagleton news, I assume.
[0:11] No, I have not.
[0:12] You haven't?
[0:12] I've been closeted here for an hour and a half.
[0:14] Oh, Jesus.
[0:15] Well, Eagleton went out and had a press conference today and announced that he had been hospitalized three times for mental disorders.
[0:22] Yeah.
[0:22] That he had had electric shock treatment and psychotherapy.
[0:26] Yeah.
[0:26] And...
[0:27] that he had not told McGovern this, and McGovern had not known it when he nominated him.
[0:32] Yep.
[0:33] It's rather a devastating blow.
[0:34] It sure is.
[0:35] I don't know whether you knew this, Bob, but I knew that this was the case.
[0:38] I'd seen the face sheet.
[0:39] I think I indicated it to you.
[0:41] Right.
[0:42] Yep.
[0:42] Now, this is all between 60 and 66.
[0:44] Have you seen anything that he's been hospitalized since 66?
[0:47] No, I haven't.
[0:49] Okay, because there's some report that he was also in Johns Hopkins after, in the last year or two.
[0:54] That I do not know.
[0:56] And he left that out, and if that's true, then he lied.
[0:58] Now, what I do know is, I think I indicated to you it was 67, and I guess it was 66.
[1:04] 60, 64, and 66.
[1:05] Yeah, it was the 66 hospital face sheet that I saw.
[1:08] Okay.
[1:09] Well, he was in three times.
[1:11] I don't think we should make any comments, should we?
[1:13] Well, what the president wants everybody to say is that the president has given instructions that he never, none of us, have any comment on any personal matter.
[1:22] Right, right.
[1:24] But it should be, make the point, the President has instructed all of us that he's always had the policy that there's never a comment on a personal matter in a campaign.
[1:33] Good.
[1:34] Okay.
[1:35] I'll call Malik right away and make sure that throughout the whole 1701 establishment we say exactly...
[1:40] Put the lid on.
[1:41] Right.
[1:42] Good.
[1:42] Will do.
[1:43] Okay.
[1:43] I think it had to come out.
[1:45] Sure did.
[1:45] Eagleton knew that medical teams were...
[1:49] probing and that this information was leaking but it is an absolutely devastating thing of course