Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 28 › Conversation 028-021

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Thomas Eagleton and George McGovern

Monday, July 31, 1972 · 10:16 PM–10:25 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation028-021 on Tape 28StartMonday, July 31, 1972 at 10:16 PMEndMonday, July 31, 1972 at 10:25 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 028-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed strategies to exploit the political vulnerabilities of George McGovern following the controversy surrounding his running mate, Thomas Eagleton. They specifically strategized to attack McGovern’s judgment regarding the potential selection of Lawrence O'Brien, while opting to withhold a sensitive letter from Fort Wayne to avoid a public backlash similar to historical precedents. The President instructed Haldeman to aggressively pursue and catalog derogatory information on their political opponents to leverage as needed.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Go gung-ho on that out front.
Go gung-ho, as I said.
Get every goddamn thing there is on that son of a bitch.
Okay.
too early to use the letter from Fort Wayne, isn't it?
I don't think we ought to.
No.
I don't think we ought to use it.
I don't think we want to use it at all.
That's my view because of the Cleveland episode, you know.
You just never know how that sort of thing is going to react.
But anyway, only I would say it's the last that worries him, you know what I mean?
He might use it in that way.
Only then, but not now.
In any event, we certainly can worry him about O'Brien, can't we?
Oh, yeah.
I think there you take it head on.
You don't pull any punches at all.
That's right.
You just leap out and say the guy's again proven his incredibly bad judgment.
Sure.
And you don't hit it on O'Brien.
You hit it on McGovern's bad judgment again.
Exactly.
Now he's got a guy.
is totally unqualified for elective office, which he recognizes himself because he's never run for elective office.
Secondly, and then he's doing all this stuff.
Well, I'm sure we have that Indiana stuff in the bank, just like LeBron's stuff.
Yep.
Only you.
It's all good.
It's interesting.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On July 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:16 pm to 10:25 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 028-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 28-21

Date: July 31, 1972
Time: 10:16 pm - 10:25 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[See Conversation No. 757-19]

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 6m 45s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

    Thomas F. Eagleton removal
              -Lawrence F. O'Brien, Jr.
                   -Gathering of information

    [George S. McGovern]
        -[Allegation of impropriety]
        -Letter from Fort Wayne
               -Use
               -Grover Cleveland
                    -Reaction

    Reaction to O'Brien as Vice President

    Indiana material

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 12s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************

Also recorded on August 1, 1972

  • 757-014 9:57 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:57 pm and 10:16 pm.
  • 757-019 10:16 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:16 pm to 10:25 pm.
  • 028-022 10:26 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan talked on the telephone from 10:26 pm to 10:31 pm.
  • 757-020 10:26 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Patrick J. Buchanan met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:26 pm to 10:31 pm.
  • 028-023 10:31 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:31 pm and 10:58 pm.
  • 028-024 10:31 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:31 pm and 10:58 pm.
  • 757-021 10:31 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:31 pm and 10:58 pm.
  • 757-022 10:31 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:31 pm and 10:58 pm.

All 73 conversations from August 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 028-021, August 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/028-021 (accessed October 1, 2026).