Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 45 › Conversation 045-041

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Watergate and Cabinet loyalty

Monday, April 30, 1973 · 10:16 PM–10:20 PM ET · White House Telephone ·3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation045-041 onTape 45StartMonday, April 30, 1973 at 10:16 PMEndMonday, April 30, 1973 at 10:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-041 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the public reception of the President's televised address regarding the Watergate scandal, which resulted in the departures of Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Nixon expresses frustration over the perceived lack of loyalty from his Cabinet, noting that only Caspar Weinberger reached out to offer support, while simultaneously reaffirming his deep personal affection for Haldeman. The two men agree to cease further public discussion of the scandal, and Nixon instructs the switchboard to begin accepting incoming calls from staff and officials.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Hi.
Hope I didn't let you down.
No, sir.
You got your points over and now you got it set right.
Move on.
You're right where you ought to be.
Well, it was a tough thing for you and for John and the rest, but God damn it, I'm never going to discuss this son of a bitching Watergate thing again.
Never, never, never, never.
Don't you agree?
Yes, sir.
You've done it now.
You've laid out your position.
You've laid out your—taken your steps.
You've put that— Interesting thing, you know, we haven't heard a—the only cabinet officer that is called—and this is fifty minutes after the thing is over—is Kap Weinberger, bless his soul.
All the rest of you are waiting to see what the polls show.
Goddamn strong cabinet, isn't it?
You'd better check and be sure, because
No, no, no.
They know.
They know.
They know who to call.
They know they can get through.
But in any event, I just want you to know that Cap called and he was all the way.
Good.
But let me say you're a strong man, God damn it, and I love you.
And I love John and all the rest.
And by God, keep the faith.
Keep the faith.
You're going to win this, son of a bitch.
Absolutely.
You notice what I said about the violence and so forth on the other side?
Yeah.
I mean, there were some intricacies in this that only the sophisticates will understand.
I got those, and I want to get the text because there's some things to work on from there.
All right.
I thought it was good, too, to sort of—
on what I deeply felt, you know, the religious note, you know, God bless America.
I mean, I'm sure it must have, you know, driven you up the wall.
It didn't drive me up the wall, but I felt that way.
No, I'm all for that.
I completely agree.
I don't know whether you can call and get any reactions and call me back, like the old style, would you mind?
I don't think I can.
I don't— No, I agree.
I don't— I have an odd spot to try and do that.
Don't call a goddamn soul, to hell with it.
Let me just say, getting this call from me—from you,
I haven't heard from any cabinet officer except Weinberger an hour afterwards, and thank God, and no staff member.
Well, now what I know, the board said they were instructed not to put any calls through, so— The hell with that.
I told them to put all the calls through.
Well, that may be why you haven't gotten them, though, because that's— All right.
—what you told me.
I'll change it.
I'll change it.
All right.
All right, but God bless you, boy.
God bless you.
I love you, as you know.
Okay.
Like my brother.
Alright boy, keep the pace.
Right.

NARA Description

On April 30, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:16 pm to 10:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-041 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-41

Date: April 30, 1973
Time: 10:16 pm - 10:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

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

     Watergate
          -President’s previous speech, April 30, 1973
                -John D. Ehrlichman
          -Telephone calls to President from Cabinet
                -Caspar W. (“Cap”) Weinberger
                                              -27-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                      (rev. October-2012)

                                                                Conversation No. 45-41 (cont’d)

                  -Other Cabinet members
            -Haldeman
            -Ehrlichman
            -President’s previous speech
                  -Campaign violence
                  -Religious references
                  -Telephone calls to President
                        -Instructions to switchboard
            -President’s feelings for Haldeman

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-039 10:09 PM · 5 min — Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Paul W. Keyes, and John A. Volpe talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:09 pm and 10:16 pm.
  • 045-040 10:12 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:12 pm and 10:16 pm.
  • 045-042 10:20 PM · 1 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and William F. ("Billy") Graham talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:32 pm.
  • 045-043 10:20 PM · 25 sec — Rose Mary Woods and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:32 pm.
  • 045-044 10:20 PM · 5 min — William P. Rogers, President Richard M. Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:32 pm.
  • 045-045 10:20 PM · 5 min — William F. ("Billy") Graham and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:32 pm.
  • 045-046 10:20 PM · 15 sec — White House operator and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:32 pm.
  • 045-047 10:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:33 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-041, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-041 (accessed September 18, 2026).