Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-052

Nixon phone call with Goldwater on 1972 Presidential Election

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 10:47 AM–10:48 AM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Goldwater, Barry M.Conversation031-052 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 10:47 AMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 10:48 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-052 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Senator Barry Goldwater discuss Goldwater's upcoming meeting with George Wallace, with the President requesting that he convey his personal well-wishes and offers of medical assistance to the wounded governor. The conversation shifts to the 1972 campaign, where they critique media allegations of Republican 'dirty tricks' as a non-issue outside of Washington. Goldwater proposes a strategy of using 'reverse English' by suggesting that Democratic operatives were responsible for the political mischief, to which Nixon encourages him to continue his aggressive campaign rhetoric.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Mr. President.

Hello.

Mr. President.

Yeah.

Mr. Goldwater.

Hello.

Are you in Alabama?

Yes, sir, I am.

Well, give him all my best down there, and I hope that you call the governor when you're there.

I'm having breakfast with him tomorrow, Mr. President.

Great.

Well, would you give him my warmest regards and tell him, as I've often said, that I feel that I consider him as the same person

as I consider anybody who's been wounded in battle, and that we're going to get exactly the same treatment.

You see, you know, we've got VA facilities, and that if he ever has anything he wants, he has only the phone to pick up and call me.

Oh, fair play to him.

Right.

In the meantime, I want to tell you, we appreciate the way you're slamming these people a bit, you know.

What do you think of all this hocus-pocus about the dirty tricks and the rest?

God, you know, you hit it well.

Look what they did to you in the campaign.

Well, the thing about it, Mr. President, it is no issue any place in this country except in Washington.

It's a very weak one there.

I was thinking of cooking up a little reverse English on them by having somebody confess that it was a Democratic bloc.

Okay.

Well, give them hell.

We will, Mr. President.

Thanks.

Many thanks.

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Barry M. Goldwater talked on the telephone from 10:47 am to 10:48 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-052 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-52

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: 10:47 am - 10:48 am
Location: White House Telephone

Barry M. Goldwater talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 799-16]

        Goldwater's schedule
            -Forthcoming meeting with George C. Wallace
                -Wallace
                     -The President’s message
                     -Injuries
                     -Medical aid

        1972 campaign
            -Republican campaign practices
                -Press allegations
                -Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign
                -Reversal of allegations
                    -Democratic campaign practices

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

799-010 10:13 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:13 am to 10:19 am.
799-011 10:22 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:23 am.
799-012 10:24 AM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:24 am to 10:25 am.
799-013 10:25 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:25 am and 10:27 am.
799-014 10:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:27 am to 10:28 am.
799-015 10:28 AM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 10:47 am.
799-016 10:47 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Barry M. Goldwater, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:47 am to 10:48 am.
799-017 11:24 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:24 am to 11:40 am.

All 97 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-052, October 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/031-052 (accessed October 12, 2026).