Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-084

Nixon phone call with Arends on Watergate and H. R. Haldeman

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 1:18 PM–1:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Arends, Leslie C.Conversation045-084 on Tape 45StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 1:18 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 1:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-084 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Representative Leslie C. Arends discuss the fallout from the recent resignations of H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman and the positive congressional reception to the President’s April 30th address regarding the Watergate scandal. Arends reassures the President of continued support among House Republicans while expressing frustration with Senator Charles Percy’s criticism and call for a special prosecutor. The two also touch upon recent legislative discussions regarding Israel, with Arends confirming his intent to offer an amendment to restrict aid.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
This is Naren.
Hello, Mr. President.
Oh, Les.
Oh, hi.
Good, good.
Good to talk to you.
I just wanted to tell you that keep the faith, old boy.
Well, we're going to.
Good, we're going to.
You may not know this, but just a little while ago, Jerry and I talked, and I said, let's go down and see that man for five minutes and tell him that, boy, it's just like it always was, and that we're going to keep doing the thing.
Well, we did the right thing.
It was tough, you know.
I mean, it's the hardest thing in the world, you know, like poor old, poor Eisenhower.
You know, I had to fire at him, you know.
Yeah.
And Eisenhower, but I did it myself with these guys.
And I said, look, you've got to go, boys.
It had to be done less.
No, of course it had to be done.
You did the right thing.
And let me tell you this, the reaction up here is good.
What is the reaction?
I don't know.
It's good.
I've been chasing around the floor and talking to these different guys, and they're glad you did it exactly the way you did it, Jeff.
How about the speech?
How about the speech?
They liked it.
And they did, really.
Everybody feels better.
Freddie Swing said a little while ago, boy, he said that was one for the books.
That's a good one.
He said the people are going to like that.
And that's the way it is.
All right.
And I tell you, we want to encourage you.
Get a few of the...
you're the guys to say a few good things, I mean, without getting caught out of it, huh?
That's right.
We will.
We will.
Speak out, you know, get divine.
All the hardliners say, God damn it, the president is a tank of lies.
Your colleague, Percy, has come out for a special prosecutor and arrest.
There's more.
What a crazy son of a bitch.
What the hell does he think Richardson is?
That's what he is.
That's what I'd like.
Now, who's going to challenge Richardson?
That's what I'd like.
That's right.
That's right.
And I told Richardson he can point at the special prosecutor.
What the Christ does it matter with Percy?
Well, he's always been that way.
He'll always be that way.
He'll never change.
He'll be no good.
And that's just it.
But I'd have somebody attack the son of a bitch.
Well, I've got a couple of guys to do it.
Okay, boy.
But Mr. President, you just stay right with it.
Don't you think for a minute they're going to leave the ship.
That was a good meeting this morning, didn't you think?
Well, I was a dandy, and I liked your forcefulness about it.
And I loved the way you said that about Israel, because I'm about to cut them out.
I'm going to put an amendment to cut them out.
That's right.
Cut the bastards out.
Okay.
That was a good meeting, and I think it was impressive to some of those guys.
Sitting there, listening there, yeah.
And I said to Bill Dickinson, I said, that's the other side of the coin, yeah?
He said, some of the people ought to hear this.
I said, that's right.
That's right.
Okay, boy.
Thanks for your presence.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Leslie C. Arends talked on the telephone from 1:18 pm to 1:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-084 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-84

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: 1:18 pm - 1:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Leslie C. Arends.

[See also Conversation No. 433-16]

     Watergate
          -Arends’s conversation with Gerald R. Ford
          -President’s April 30, 1973 speech
          -Resignations of John D. Ehrlichman and H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                -Dwight David Eisenhower and Sherman Adams
                -Congressional reaction
          -President’s speech
                -Congressional reaction
                      -Fred Schwengel
          -Need for Republican Congressional speeches
                -Samuel L. Devine
          -Charles Percy, Jr.
                -Special Prosecutor
                      -Elliot L. Richardson
                                             -59-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                             Conversation No. 45-84 (cont’d)

                 -Possible attacks by Congressmen

     President’s schedule
           -President’s meeting with Congressmen
                 -Israel
                       -President’s statement
                       -Arends’s amendment
                 -Arends’s conversation with William L. Dickinson

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-082 1:16 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:16 pm.
  • 045-083 1:16 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:18 pm.
  • 433-016 1:18 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Leslie C. Arends met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:18 pm to 1:20 pm.
  • 045-085 1:20 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:22 pm.
  • 433-017 1:20 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:22 pm.
  • 045-086 1:22 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons talked on the telephone from 1:22 pm to 1:23 pm.
  • 433-018 1:22 PM · 42 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and William E. Timmons met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:22 pm to 1:23 pm.
  • 045-087 1:23 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:23 pm and 1:24 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-084, 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/045-084 (accessed October 5, 2026).