Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 36 › Conversation 036-107
Nixon phone call with Rebozo on Lyndon B. Johnson and Vietnam War
Wednesday, January 24, 1973 · 7:35 PM–7:40 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Bebe Rebozo discussed the logistics of Rebozo's upcoming attendance at Lyndon B. Johnson's funeral as the President's representative. They reviewed the presentation of ceremonial gifts for the Johnson family and touched upon the public reception of Nixon's recent Vietnam peace announcement. Additionally, Rebozo suggested that the President send a personal emissary to greet released POWs, while Nixon confirmed his upcoming visit to Florida.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Vietnam War
- POW release
- Foreign policy
- Ceremonial gifts
- Public opinion
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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Hello.
I have Mr. Rebosa now.
Hello.
Mr. President.
Baby, you're going over to Texas tomorrow, huh?
Yes, sir, I am.
I understand you wouldn't come up here because Anita Bryant was going to fly with you, huh?
No, I'll tell you the truth, Mr. President.
I was going to come up and say she was going out direct.
But the fact of the matter is that I don't think I could have stumbled some of those people that had to be around there to get in front of the cameras and all that for what they did to him.
wasn't it awful you know i really couldn't i just go bright for example i just couldn't stomach uh yeah near him i really i'm glad it worked out this way yeah because uh well in any event i'm glad i went aren't you yes you got it it was beautiful it was beautiful i saw it on the news tonight of course last night was absolutely sensational it was just
That shook them up a little, didn't it?
Yeah, it shook them up.
You were certainly nice to them.
I'm sure everybody got the message, but you couldn't have done it more statesman-like.
Right.
And you did.
It was just... Yeah.
Well, now, the thing is that we have sent down the diamond pen for Mrs. Johnson and to, what you can say, only Mrs. Eisenhower.
Mrs.
Nixon, Mrs. Truman, and she have, in other words.
Okay.
And the pearl pins that I give only to members of the cabinet and foreign heads of state's wives.
See?
Mm-hmm.
And you get that for her two daughters.
Mm-hmm.
And then we'll probably be down there about Friday afternoon around 3, 4 o'clock.
That'd be great.
I'll just be great.
The weather's predicted to be good, and that scares me a little bit.
Yeah.
But that's good.
You can't get down before then, huh?
No, I'm afraid not.
No, I've got two meetings on Friday morning.
You know, a thought occurred to me.
You can be thinking about it on whether it's worth it down, because I know there are diplomatic considerations and others, but with all the flak you've caught on POWs and everything else, I was wondering if there'd be any merit to your having a personal emissary
go to Vietnam and give the POWs when they come out some kind of a little personal gift or something.
Well, we have in mind that we're working on various things.
That's a good suggestion, but, too, I mean, we're going to give them, believe me, we're going to give them every goddamn thing we can.
But, I mean, if somebody went over there, if somebody went over there and just did a personal representative and sort of did it personally for you, rather than through the government, it might overcome some of this poor shit, but it may not.
Maybe it can't be done because of
you know, State Department and other considerations, but it just occurred to me that it might be a little unusual gesture that the families and wives and, of course, the workers.
Right.
Well, we're planning a very, very big thing for all of them.
I mean, flying them in, I'm going to meet them and, you know, when they come into the Air Force Base and all that and the West Coast, and so we're going to really give them the works.
Good.
How much time do you think you'll have?
Where?
Here.
Friday, Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and all day Monday till Monday night.
It's not bad.
That's not bad.
You need more than that after all this.
Well, we'll have some more later.
But actually, you know, the...
that talk last night really shook these bastards.
I mean, you pulled the rug right out from under them, don't you think?
What did you hear in the bank?
Well, of course, everybody was just thrilled to death.
They just didn't know what to say, you know?
They just didn't know what to say.
And they would like to pick it apart, and they'd like to...
But there's nothing they can say.
That's right.
No, no, it was... No, but our friends, they...
Oh, hell, our friends are doing cartwheels.
I'm just talking about the...
The assholes.
Yeah, I'm talking about the jerks that meet... That's right.
That's right.
Well, okay, baby, you have a good time out there.
I told Mrs. Johnson you were going to be representing me.
She thought she was right, and you were going to bring three guests, and then once she would understand them, okay?
Okay.
Bye-bye.
Take it easy.
NARA Description
On January 24, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 7:35 pm to 7:40 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-107 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 36-107
Date: January 24, 1973
Time: 7:35 pm - 7:40 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo.
Rebozo’s schedule
-Lyndon B. Johnson’s funeral
-Anita Bryant
-J. William Fulbright
-Rebozo’s view of attendees
The President’s Vietnam settlement announcement
Gifts to Johnson family
-Mamie G. D. Eisenhower, Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon, Bess (Wallace) Truman
The President’s schedule
-Florida
Prisoners of War [POW] release
-The President’s personal emissary
-Trip to Vietnam
The President’s schedule
-69-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 36-107 (cont’d)
The President’s opponents
-Rebozo’s view
-Johnson’s funeralAlso recorded on January 25, 1973
- 036-104 7:08 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:08 pm.
- 036-105 7:15 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:15 pm.
- 036-106 7:17 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:17 pm to 7:31 pm.
- 036-108 7:40 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:40 pm and 7:52 pm.
- 036-109 7:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:52 pm to 7:55 pm.
- 036-110 7:54 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:54 am and 8:38 am.
- 405-001 7:54 AM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:54 am and 8:38 am.
- 405-002 7:54 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:54 am and 8:38 am.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 036-107, January 25, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/036-107 (accessed October 12, 2026).