Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 42 › Conversation 042-002

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on President's income tax proposal

Tuesday, April 6, 1971 · 8:54 AM–8:58 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation042-002 on Tape 42 (tape position 00:00:58–00:05:42)StartTuesday, April 6, 1971 at 8:54 AMEndTuesday, April 6, 1971 at 8:58 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 042-002 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417187759 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, discussed recent media coverage and public relations efforts. They touched upon the television reach of the President's income tax proposal, the humorous press reception of his meeting with film industry leaders, and the positive public reaction to returning beach land. Nixon also reassured Julie about criticism regarding the Vietnam War, framing it as fear of the administration's success, and instructed Dwight Chapin to arrange media appearances for her.

  • President's income tax proposal
  • Television coverage
  • Film industry meeting
  • Charlton Heston
  • Jack Valenti
  • Beach access
  • Vietnam War criticism
  • Dwight Chapin

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.6 MB

NARA Description

On April 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 8:54 am to 8:58 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 042-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 42-2

Date: April 6, 1971
Time: 8:54 am - 8:58 am
Location: White House Telephone

Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked with the President.

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 07/26/2018.
1m 51s segment cleared for release with two segments of 1m 40s and 1m 11s remaining closed
as 042-002-w001 and 042-002-w002 respectively.]
[Personal Returnable]
[042-002-w001]
[Duration: 1m 40s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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[Personal Returnable]
[042-002-w001]
[Duration: 1m 51s]

     President's income tax proposal
           -Television coverage

     President's meeting with film industry leaders
           -AP story in local paper
                 -Charlton Heston’s view
                 -Jack J. Valenti’s view
          -President’s opinion on film industry

     Beach story
          -6 miles of beach returned to people

     Vietnam
          -Critics fear of success

     President's instructions for Dwight L. Chapin

     Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s schedule

     David Eisenhower’s schedule

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal Returnable]
[042-002-w002]
[Duration: 1m 11s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference from the voices and the participant list. Words and names can still be wrong — verify against the audio and the finding aid before citing.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

EisenhowerDid the tax speech get on television?
NixonOh, yes, I'm sure it did. Why?
EisenhowerWell, because out in California they didn't know anything about it. I was just wondering if it was televised.
NixonOh, they didn't? No, not television. Nobody carries speeches like that, darling. They didn't even put the ones on with the educators. But it gets good wire story.
EisenhowerOh, yeah. Because they thought—[crosstalk] people in California
Nixon[crosstalk] You know, networks don't—
Eisenhowerdidn't know anything about it, so—
NixonWell, you see, the networks don't put anything on. They don't give you free television.
EisenhowerRight. Yeah.
NixonThey have to buy television, or ask for the three of them. We're asking for tomorrow night, for example, on the war, you see? You see what I mean?
EisenhowerRight. Right.
NixonYeah, don't worry about that.
EisenhowerDid you see the AP story in the paper about the meeting with the producers? It was so funny. It said Charlton Heston, said,
NixonOh, did they like it?
EisenhowerWell, Charlton Heston said that they were impressed that, you know, "The President is as concerned about movies as we are. He loves to go to the movies."
NixonYeah.
EisenhowerAnd then they quoted, um, Jack Valenti. Jack Valenti said, "The President said he hasn't been out to the movies in three years. He sees them in the White House."
Nixon[laughs] That was pretty good, huh?
EisenhowerYeah, it was [unintelligible]
NixonDid they say anything else about what we told them about—
EisenhowerWell, but, it was a good story.
Nixon—the sex and all that?
EisenhowerYeah, it was good, but it was just so—
NixonYeah.
Eisenhower—humorous, you know, the way it came off.
NixonWell, did you see the beach thing, darling?
EisenhowerYeah, the beach thing, I heard about on the radio, was just fantastic.
NixonYeah.
EisenhowerGiving the people, what, six miles of beach?
NixonYeah, that was really great.
EisenhowerSix miles. Wow.
NixonWell, look, I wouldn't worry about anything.
EisenhowerNo, I don't.
NixonThe, uh, thing on the, uh—on the war, as I told you, is, don't worry about what the opponents are saying. They're just terrified that it's succeeded, you know, and that it's going to succeed, and that we're going to get out and are in good shape. So, uh, they're frantic.
EisenhowerRight. I talked to Dwight yesterday.
NixonGood. Tell him to get you on television.
EisenhowerAnd he said—
NixonGet yourself on television.
EisenhowerAnd, uh, well, you know what? We did—I had three press conferences and three TV interviews, and two press conferences today.
NixonWell, see, but Dwight ought to give out stories in Washington about you, though, you see? That's what I mean.
EisenhowerRight. Right. Well, tonight, you know,
NixonAll right.
Eisenhowerwe're going to the dinner for David's ship.
NixonOh, grand.

Also recorded on April 6, 1971

  • 245-001 7:49 AM · 5 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 7:49 am and 9:20 am.
  • 245-019 7:49 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:49 am and 9:20 am.
  • 042-003 8:54 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:54 am and 9:10 am.
  • 042-004 9:10 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:10 am.
  • 042-005 9:20 AM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:20 am and 9:22 am.
  • 245-002 9:20 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:20 am to 9:59 am.
  • 042-006 9:22 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Michael J. ("Mike") Mansfield, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:22 am to 9:27 am.
  • 042-007 9:27 AM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:27 am and 9:59 am.

All 65 conversations from April 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 042-002, April 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417187759). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/042-002 (accessed October 31, 2026).