Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 045-045
Date: Monday, April 30, 1973 at 10:20 PM
Participants: Graham, William F. ("Billy"); Nixon, Richard M. (President)
Recording device: White House Telephone
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-045

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Mr. President, Mr. Reverend Billy Graham.
[0:05] Yep.
[0:05] Hello.
[0:06] President?
[0:07] Yeah, hello.
[0:07] I think this is your finest hour.
[0:09] Well, nice of you, Billy.
[0:11] Really, I wanted to reach through that screen and hug you.
[0:16] I thought you were just great.
[0:19] And everybody I've talked to feels the same way.
[0:24] You know, they'll continue to slash away, so what the hell.
[0:28] Well, you know, Ruth— Excuse me, excuse me the hell.
[0:32] Well, you know, Ruth, she thinks it's all a communist plot and left wing and everything else.
[0:37] It is, it is, it is.
[0:37] You know that.
[0:39] And before she left for Minneapolis tonight, she pinned on my pillow to tell you if I talked to you this little note.
[0:45] She said, to be able to stand steady and defeat is in itself a victory.
[0:51] You haven't been defeated, but you stood steady and you won a victory tonight.
[0:55] and a big one, maybe one of the best in history.
[0:58] You felt—of course, it was a deliberate and rather—I didn't have much time to work on it.
[1:06] I was so busy.
[1:06] I had to tell Holmes and Ehrlichman to resign, which they wouldn't do involuntarily, and that was tough.
[1:12] But your sincerity, your humility, your asking for prayer,
[1:16] All of that had a tremendous impact.
[1:19] You really think so, Billy?
[1:21] I'm telling you the truth, and I'm not trying to just encourage you.
[1:24] I know you get all that, but I really mean it.
[1:29] Well, that's good of you, Billy.
[1:30] You've been a friend, and I'll never forget when you were there for my mother's funeral.
[1:37] Well, bless your heart.
[1:41] All this week, I've just pled before the Lord that he would help you and that this would—
[1:46] Don't you think that Richard's the thing that's good?
[1:48] You know, here's a guy, my God, now he's in charge, and he can do anything he wants.
[1:53] Well, of course.
[1:56] The Associated Press called me about ten minutes ago, and here's what I said.
[1:59] I said the president demonstrated a commendable humility.
[2:03] He accepted the responsibility.
[2:06] He provided an appropriate course of action.
[2:08] He asked for our prayers.
[2:10] He deserves the prayers and unity of all Americans, and he has mine.
[2:15] Good for you, Billy.
[2:16] Good, good, good, good.
[2:17] Well, where are you?
[2:19] At Montreat?
[2:20] Yes, sir.
[2:22] Well, it was so good of you to call.
[2:24] The thing about Billy Graham, he always calls when it's good or bad.
[2:29] You know how I love you.
[2:30] Well, I love you.
[2:32] And I'll do all in my power.
[2:33] I love Ruth, and I love your father-in-law.
[2:35] I know you do.
[2:36] And he was the first one to call me.
[2:38] What'd he say?
[2:39] He said he thought it was the most moving speech he'd ever heard, and he puts it above the checker speech.
[2:44] You're fine with that?
[2:46] Yes, sir.
[2:47] Isn't that nice?
[2:47] That's exactly what he said.
[2:49] Isn't that nice?
[2:50] Well, that's good, then.
[2:51] Other networks, ABC and NBC, everybody's...
[2:53] I don't listen to these other networks.
[2:55] That's CBS.
[2:57] What's CBS?
[2:58] Can they knock it?
[3:00] I felt like slashing their throats.
[3:03] But anyway, God be with you.
[3:06] CBS was knocking it, but ABC and NBC were not bad.
[3:10] They were all favorable.
[3:12] Right.
[3:13] We don't care about CBS.
[3:15] You've got to have, you know, it's a free press.
[3:17] And Dan Rather at the end was very good on CBS even.
[3:21] He sought to rebuke the others, I thought.
[3:23] What did he say?
[3:24] Well, he was quoting what you had said to the press after your speech.
[3:28] When you went in there and said, when I'm wrong, give me hell.
[3:31] And he said, if this is the attitude the president's going to have by George, we're going to cooperate with him.
[3:37] Right.
[3:37] I thought that was a good move, don't you think?
[3:39] It was.
[3:41] Showed a little humility.
[3:43] Billy, how good of you to call and give my love to Ruth and be her father-in-law.
[3:49] And we love you all.
[3:51] You know that.
[3:52] John Conley was the first one to call me, you know?
[3:54] Well, bless your heart.
[3:55] Good old John.
[3:56] God bless you.
[3:57] God bless you.
[3:59] You didn't mind my putting in the little thing at the end, you know?
[4:02] That was just off the top of my head when I said, God bless America, God bless all of you.
[4:08] Some people thought that it was a little bit melodramatic, but I thought, God damn it.
[4:13] Excuse me.
[4:13] That's what I felt.
[4:14] That's what I believed.
[4:16] You didn't mind it?
[4:17] No, sir.
[4:18] I thought you looked good and you delivered it so well.
[4:23] And you know, I thought that you would look tired.
[4:25] I thought you would look haggard.
[4:26] I thought you would look bad.
[4:28] But my goodness, you came on there.
[4:31] It was really one of your great moments.
[4:33] Thank you, Billy.
[4:34] And God bless you.
[4:35] And God bless you, and thank you for your wonderful friendship.
[4:40] I'll never forget it.
[4:42] I don't care.
[4:42] Win or lose, win or lose, I don't care.
[4:45] You're winning tonight.
[4:46] All right, boy.
[4:47] Goodbye.
[4:50] Thank you.
[4:51] Go for it.