Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 039-005
Date: Thursday, May 24, 1973 at 1:39 PM
Participants: White House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Arends, Leslie C.
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-005

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:01] Congressman Aaron, sir.
[0:02] Hello.
[0:03] You are.
[0:04] How did your boys like the meeting?
[0:05] Oh, they loved it.
[0:07] They loved it.
[0:08] And really, it was perfect.
[0:09] I thought we ought to do it perhaps about every couple months, don't you think?
[0:13] Yeah.
[0:13] Not too often, you know, it doesn't mean much to them.
[0:15] And, you know, about whenever you think they need a little...
[0:19] of our morale today.
[0:21] It's all great.
[0:21] It's better.
[0:22] It's so much better.
[0:23] Is it beginning to pick up?
[0:24] It's beginning to pick up, and I think you can just sense the change coming on.
[0:27] That statement is getting around.
[0:29] Everybody reading it, I hope they are.
[0:30] We did.
[0:31] We saw to it they got it.
[0:32] Right.
[0:33] One point that ought to be made very strongly is this, that truly the tragedy is, I'm going to say to the POWs in a few minutes, that
[0:39] you have a situation where they make national heroes out of those that steal secrets and then condemn those and try to protect the national security.
[0:46] Because I said without secret diplomacy, there would have been no China initiative, no Soviet initiative, and these guys would still be in that damn big pen in Hanoi.
[0:55] Terrific point.
[0:55] If that's hard, will you?
[0:57] I will.
[0:57] And I'm going back out home this week and make some speeches.
[1:00] Very well, boy.
[1:02] Thank you.
[1:02] Well, Mr. President, I think what you said about national defense last night was terrific those last few minutes.
[1:07] Now, some way we ought to get our boys in the aggregate, maybe, or somehow, so they understand it just the way you said it last night.
[1:15] I can say it to somebody else, but... One day.
[1:19] Yeah.
[1:19] When you really come to a bunch of old IMA, come down and talk to them yourself.
[1:23] Oh, I think that would be terrific.
[1:25] That would be absolutely terrific.
[1:26] It would be a change of pace, and that would be good.
[1:28] Right.
[1:29] Yeah.
[1:29] Okay, good.
[1:30] We'll see you tonight.
[1:31] Right.
[1:31] Okay.