Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 136 › Conversation 136-021

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Politics and NATO

Sunday, July 23, 1972 · 12:18 PM–12:25 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation136-021 on Tape 136 (tape position 01:36:09–01:41:44)StartSunday, July 23, 1972 at 12:18 PMEndSunday, July 23, 1972 at 12:25 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 136-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, discussed various administrative and personal matters while the President was at Camp David. They touched upon political topics, including John Connally's media appearances, George McGovern's position on Greek aid and its impact on NATO, and the public reception of Vice President Spiro Agnew. Additionally, the President requested that his staff track down press coverage of a recent wedding for a family friend, and the two briefly discussed family activities and film recommendations.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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?
Daddy, hi.
Are you feeling better?
Yeah, I am feeling better, really.
Every day it begins to come on.
I wanted to tell you that Connelly is going to be on at 1 o'clock on Meet the Press, and I thought that you and Mommy and Tricia might watch it if you're there.
Good.
And then if you like it, you might give him a call.
I'll probably give him a call because he'll be good.
You can be sure of that.
At 1 o'clock?
1 o'clock on Meet the Press.
I didn't know that.
Good.
Daddy, one thing I wanted to tell you.
Yeah, yeah.
I got a letter from Bruce Mather.
Yeah.
And he said that people had been calling his dad and, you know, from your staff and asking
And Bruce said that maybe he thought that if you called his father, his father would say yes.
Might as well pass it on.
I don't know if you want to do it.
Good, good, fine.
All right, good, good, good.
Is the weather nice up there?
It's terrible here.
Oh, it's hotter than Billy Be Damned here.
I can't even, I am not even going outside.
I'm going to go outside.
Really that bad?
Yeah, I'm going to swim here.
Well, it's not as hot as it is there.
Yeah.
But it's so hot that you don't care to walk around.
Yeah.
I took a swim yesterday, that was all.
And then I'll take a swim today.
And I'll be back in time for dinner at about 6.15.
How's that?
Oh, Daddy, why don't you stay up there and relax?
Well, it's pretty hot there.
Well, I might stay then past dinner.
Yeah, you don't need to come back for dinner.
We'll have dinner tomorrow night.
Yeah.
You're sweet to do it, but you might as well get the nice weather when you can.
Well, if it stays, unless it gets better, I might stay through dinner here and just fool around and come back around 9 o'clock.
Right.
Good.
I wanted to tell you that I got a new movie.
It's an old one, a great John Wayne movie, which was Academy Award winner.
It was one that was produced by John Ford.
I mean, directed by John Ford.
Did you see it?
Yeah.
And I want you to be sure and see it.
It's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
Have you ever seen it?
You may have seen it, because it's a famous song.
That's where the famous song, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
She wore a yellow ribbon.
Is it really good?
It's one of the best westerns of all time.
I made a list today of some movies.
Put down She Wore a Yellow Ribbon for you and David to see sometime, because he likes westerns.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
It's one of the best westerns.
John Wayne considers it one of his very best movies.
Oh, really good.
By the way, Mother was great on TV last night.
Great.
Well, what was she on?
I didn't know.
This Bob Hope did a telethon to raise money for the Agnes disaster relief.
Oh, great.
And John Wayne came on from Hollywood.
Jimmy Stewart was there in person and Mike Douglas.
Where was it held?
It was held at... Philadelphia?
No, Baltimore TV station.
Good.
Mother got a standing ovation, and it was really good.
She went over there?
Yeah.
Last night?
Yeah.
I didn't know about her.
I looked.
Well, that's great.
Yeah, and Agnew called.
It was a telethon.
They called in and pledged money.
Agnew called in, pledged money.
It was good.
Good, good, good, good, good, good.
That's fine.
Well, you enjoyed the day, and Trisha said the wedding was, she thought they were all very happy about the thing.
Oh, I think they were thrilled.
Yeah.
I think McGovern's on at 1230, I think, too, today, if you want to see it.
What's he on, I wonder?
Well, Face the Nation.
Oh, yeah.
I think.
We might watch it, but he's such a jerk.
I don't want to see him.
Yeah, he's come out now for stopping aid to Greece.
You know what that'll do?
Destroy NATO.
Well, not only that, but where are American ships supposed to base?
Yeah, that's the reason it would destroy NATO, you see.
Is that what you mean?
Well, that's what I mean, because you see, Greece is the southern hinge of NATO.
If you cut off aid to Greece, then you have no, it then isolates Turkey.
You know, doesn't he care about the Mediterranean?
Well, the thing is that he wants to cut off eight degrees to what he calls a right-wing dictatorship, but he wants to have better relations with Castro and with Chile, who are both left-wing dictators.
So anyway, that'll be fine, but the press will be very easy on him.
They just build him up all the time.
I thought the Agnew announcement got a good play, didn't you?
Yeah, very good.
Yeah, he looked good in his picture.
He's a good-looking man.
Anything.
Was he on television?
Yeah, we saw him on the news.
How did he look?
Very good.
He did a very, you know, very good job of saying that he wanted to be part of the administration and talk about, you know, what's been accomplished.
Good.
He didn't make any quips and everything.
Well, it was the thing to do, don't you think?
Yeah, it was the only thing to do.
Yeah.
And did anybody carry a picture of the wedding, I wonder?
No, they didn't.
Did you look through both the post and the star?
Yeah, they didn't carry it.
That's too bad.
Isn't that a shame?
We saw a little film clip of it on the 10 o'clock news.
So that's nice.
Oh, be well.
Be sure Dabney knows that.
Yeah.
Well, they should have carried something on the way.
The goddamn paper should have at least had a picture.
I know.
It's terrible.
You sure will.
Why don't you have the office ask them to, because we have the deal, to see if any have, just call...
Ziegler's office or Connie Stewart's office or something, and tell them to check the press around the country.
I bet you the wire services did carry a picture someplace, and then you can clip them and send them to her.
Okay, I'll do that.
That would be nice.
All right, honey.
We'll see you tonight.
Bye.

NARA Description

On July 23, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at Camp David from 12:18 pm to 12:25 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 136-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 136-21

Date: July 23, 1972
Time: 12:18-12:25 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table (telephone)

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

[See Conversation No. 196-8]

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 04/11/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]

[136-021-w001]
[Duration: 5m 35s]

      John B. Connally's Meet the Press interview
             -Julie Nixon Eisenhower
             -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
             -Tricia Nixon Cox

      Letter from Bruce Smathers to Julie Nixon Eisenhower
              -Requests for George A. Smathers
                    -Head Democrats for Nixon in Florida
                    -Potential for President to contact George A. Smathers

      Weather
            -Camp David
                  -Compared to Washington DC

      The President's schedule
             -Swimming
             -Return for dinner
             -Dinner on July 24 with Julie Nixon Eisenhower

      Movie
              -She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
                    -John (“Duke”) Wayne
                    -John Ford
                    -President’s recommendation
                            -Julie Nixon Eisenhower and David Eisenhower

      Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope telethon on July 22 1972
              -Appearance by Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
              -Hurricane Agnes disaster relief
              -John (“Duke”) Wayne
              -James (“Jimmy”) Stewart
              -Mike Douglas
              -Baltimore television station
              -Spiro T. Agnew
                     -Telephone call
                     -Pledge of money

      Wedding of Dabney Jane Hibbert and Barry Wayne Feather
            -Tricia Nixon Cox’s opinion

      George S. McGovern
            Forthcoming July 23 1972 Face the Nation interview

              -Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s opinion
              -Statement on cutting off aid to Greece
                      -Potential impact on North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
                      -Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s opinion
                      -President’s opinion
                              -Impact on Turkey
                              -Mediterranean
                              -Compared to support for Fidel Castro and Chile

       Spiro T. Agnew
              -Announcement
                    -President’s opinion
                    -Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s opinion

       Wedding of Dabney Jane Hibbert and Barry Wayne Feather
             -Press coverage
                     -Washington Post
                     -Washington Star
                     -Local news
                            -Dabney Jane Hibbert
                     -President’s request for Julie Nixon Eisenhower
                            -Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler's office
                            -Telephone call to Constance M. (Cornell) (“Connie”) Stuart
                                    -Inquiry about press coverage

*****************************************************************

Also recorded on July 23, 1972

  • 196-008 12:18 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:18 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 136-023 12:23 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David at 12:23 pm.
  • 136-022 12:25 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 196-009 12:25 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:26 pm.
  • 196-010 12:26 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 12:26 pm.
  • 196-011 12:26 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 12:26 pm.
  • 196-012 12:26 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 12:26 pm to 12:29 pm.
  • 196-013 12:29 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:29 pm and 1:35 pm.

All 52 conversations from July 23, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 136-021, July 23, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/136-021 (accessed September 21, 2026).