Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Election and Vietnam War

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Yes, sir, Mr. President.

I was trying to get Wilbur Mills, but you heard we got the vote in the House.

Did we get it?

I didn't hear.

Oh, the 221 to 163, an enormous victory.

That's marvelous.

So that puts the spur to the Senate.

I'm going to meet with the Senators on Thursday morning to kick them in the ass again.

They won't pass it, but nevertheless, we have a chance.

We have a chance.

That's all right.

That makes it our issue and puts it right on the table.

I'd love to put it right at the monkey right on the Senate table.

Yeah.

It isn't one that people understand, spending ceilings and the rest, but we'll try to put it in terms of fighting to keep taxes down and spending down and prices down and so forth.

Well, I think you made the case last Saturday as well as it could be made.

The spending ceiling people don't understand.

Not at all.

They're against big government spending.

We've got to put it in terms of this is a vote against high taxes.

That's what really is.

If you could call a few people that want to comment, this is a vote against high taxes.

The Senate should now vote against high taxes.

It's a whole line, Chuck.

Yes, sir, it is.

No question.

When you talked to me earlier, I hadn't heard the report.

I heard but one little blip.

Is he going to send that asshole Shriver to Hanoi?

Yes, sir.

Oh, for Christ's sakes.

That's enough to piss the whole thing right off.

I think so.

I think he lost it.

It's very close to it.

I know, but it doesn't make it.

Not that many saw it.

But the main point is that

our people should really demolish the son of a bitch.

He wants to impose a communist government.

That's the term it's got to use.

He's on South Vietnam.

He wants to then have nothing to do but to beg for the release of our prisoners.

He leaves no alternative.

And it's a complete surrender, defeat.

Oh, it is.

Well, it's unconditional surrender and unconditional amnesty.

Because he said in the speech, which is unbelievable to me, he said that I would let all of our people come home who...

As a matter of fact, he could not go to Vietnam and fight.

He put him in the peace car.

Is that what he would do?

No, no, hell no.

He said, if I were they, I would volunteer for two years in service at the nominal... Oh, Christ.

If I were they.

What about the poor 400 and...

Four million and a half poor bastards that didn't have any rich parents and the rest, who didn't go to college and didn't bug out.

What about the 50,000 that lost their poor lives?

Exactly right.

Well, I just hope you get some of the unions.

How about getting Fitzsimmons to take them on on this?

Oh, God, you should see what Fitzsimmons said today.

Did he get them?

Yes, sir.

Fitzsimmons, Gleason, Ken Lyons, and...

Let's see, we've got one of them.

Oh, Jesse Calhoun.

What'd they say?

Oh, Jesse Calhoun said, George McGovern's incredible willingness to parent the Hanoi line in Vietnam makes him one of the greatest American sellout artists in history.

Tonight he's going to run another one of his so-called peace plans up the black hole to see how many hippies draft out his gay liberation and salute it.

Great.

It's easy to predict what banners he's going to raise.

The top most will be the white flags that are in the Viet Cong colors, and on the bottom the stripes upside down.

That's the way to hit it.

Mm-hmm.

That's all right.

Well, basically, he is.

This fellow now has crossed the front.

Here's Kissinger over there.

He knows he's not there, you know, looking at the sights of Paris.

And this, really, is a saboteur of the negotiations.

I mean, if I were the enemy, I'd just fold up and go home, even the long chance that nothing's going to happen.

Well, the labor leaders, they really jump on them, and they'll...

I hope they get a little play.

I think they will.

As a matter of fact, Ken Lyons...

I was the first one to move on the wires about 5 o'clock tonight.

He called on all networks and canceled the appearance on the grounds that it was such a horrible thing to do to the country at this time.

And he got some mileage out of that.

I think Gleason did also.

Right.

I said, you've got to call for action or make a charge or something to make the news.

He says that he should be awarded the Lennon Peace Prize.

Typical Teddy Gleason.

That's great, though.

Oh, it is.

It is.

He said, James Fonda knows exactly what McGovern as president would do to the U.S. Army as well as the honors of the country's 17 million free people of South Vietnam.

That's the stuff.

Well, anyway, I just want to know.

Tomorrow you can have some fun with this stuff.

close to us that it's awful hard to tell is that anybody who stayed through the whole half hour is either deeply involved in the campaign as we are or is it confirmed by government supporters because after the first 10 minutes he just was groaning it was professionally done from a television standpoint oh sure you know the color was good the background was good

Sure, that doesn't make any difference unless you've got something to say.

Absolutely not a part of it.

What he was saying was we're going to...

There wasn't one word of criticism in that whole goddamn half hour.

It was annoying.

What a horrible thing it is for us to be doing all this bombing, these tiny bands of peasant guerrillas.

Oh, Christ.

Well, I just think this, though, and don't let the domestic counsel crowd drive off of this.

I want them to slaughter him on this point.

They've really got to go after him as being, you know, the sellout.

It'll help solidify the labor support, but crack him and don't get the view that this is going to raise the Vietnam issue.

Harris would disagree on this, but Harris is wrong on this because he's wrong on this issue.

Well, I think that's right.

Now, Harris thinks that the Vietnam issue is a winner for us.

He just thinks that we should be exploiting... Yeah, but I mean, but Harris, basically, his constituency is wrong on this issue.

You know what I mean?

The Jews and the rest.

But God damn it, we really ought to hit this.

Well, the one place where... Yeah, I think there were several places where we can hit it.

Number one, he hasn't said a thing against Kanoi.

Right.

Number two, he said Cambodia and Laos, they were living in...

We invented them?

Goddamn it, the North Vietnamese invented them.

I think the American people are too smart for this.

I really do.

Sending Schreiber to Hanoi, my God, was goring all of our troops, getting out of Thailand.

Stopping all aid.

Well, not only stopping all aid, taking back all salvageable military equipment.

He's got a good statement saying that he might as well disarm the South Vietnamese to make it easier for the North Vietnamese to come in and massacre them.

Good God.

Incredible.

And then he compares himself to Pierre Mendez-France.

Mendez-France, who was a sellout artist of the first water, no good.

The American people do not like to be compared to the French, who have a bad reputation.

Well, you can say Mendez-France was a disaster for France.

Oh, yeah.

Well, he said, I will be the same as Mendez-France.

I will bring peace in five weeks, as he did for the French.

And I think people, Americans, don't like to be compared to the American people.

Well, but you understand.

Don't let anybody drive you off this.

Now, I know that you'll get the heat in the morning.

I don't know who from, but just say, I've decided it.

This is a matter of moral principle.

We've got to make this an issue.

And hit it right on the nose.

Well, I think there's two parts to it.

One is the sellout to the communists, which is... That's the most important.

Well, that's devastating.

He would impose a sellout to the communists, surrender to the communists, raising the white flag.

And also, how do you get our people...

All you have with the POWs is to have, if you withdraw all the forces, quit the bombing, all you've got is to go beg the bastards.

And there are still 15,000 French ethnics that have never been accounted for.

Oh, bullshit.

Make sure that Mel knows that a Frenchman, like a Filipino, is an American, right?

So is a South Vietnamese or a North Vietnamese American.

I mean a Frenchman.

That's right.

Yeah.

Mel is very good when he goes after them.

He'll go after them also on the amnesty question.

Right.

Hit amnesty.

Hit POWs.

That he would abandon our POWs.

He would have, I mean, when have they showed any concern for POWs?

After exploiting the tree that they have in a shameful way, how can we leave that, the future of our POWs to these barbarians?

And then he goes on.

Amnesty, POW, and imposing a communist government in South Vietnam and defeat.

Well, I must say that the whole thing is now to keep him on the defensive on this sort of thing.

He is just dead wrong on this thing.

And as you said, for that whole briefing this morning to go on without one mention of amnesty was unbelievable.

It was.

I just did.

I didn't raise that deliberately.

I was just thinking maybe they might.

Well, I was hoping somebody in the room would say it because it is such a damn powerful issue.

We've got a night to say when the war has ended and our prisoners are home.

Would you put a few people on the amnesty?

How about alerting the VFW people to go on this?

Yeah, I think we can get them now.

Because of what he said tonight, he said I'd bring them all home.

and he said, I'd give them all the opportunity to come home.

Then, personally, if I were in their position, I would ask volunteers to come home.

But leaving it to them?

Yeah, leaving it, oh sure, completely to them.

And then he said, simply to demonstrate that my objection was not to serving the nation, but to participating in a war which I thought was morally wrong.

Well, that's, that's leaving to every individual.

That's right, that's right.

But I, this particular incident.

Oh boy, boy, that's,

Let's burn his ass on that.

Real gut issue.

That's right.

450, 4,500,000 Americans served during the Vietnam War their country.

And he wants to take a few hundred that ran to Canada and let them come home and do what they damn pleased.

Well, they're not going to come back.

One of our labor guys had a marvelous statement today.

I think he'll just get loose.

He's in a county truck.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

He said,

As of now, there are only three states that George McGovern needs to carry.

Canada, Sweden, and Northeastern.

Well, that's really how these fellows feel.

We helped them a little bit when they were rich, but not a great deal.

Right.

That's good, though.

Whatever you helped, that was great, great lingo.

Well, that's great.

They really do feel this way.

I just like to hear it.

I would think that on this you might get a little love storm in the morning.

Meany ought to crack him.

I've already asked for it, and I think he may in the morning.

You think he might?

He really should.

Yeah, Meany put out a statement today.

It was a damn good one in Vietnam.

But I think now with Gleason and Calhoun, and Paul Hall, we think he's going to have one out tomorrow.

And I've already asked.

I've asked Love Stone if he would get me.

And Fitz has?

Oh, Fitz's statement was marvelous.

This was a real nut-cutter.

Good.

Okay.

All right.

I think we have a shot at getting him.

Good.

Okay.

What else is new?

Anything else new tonight?

No.

I don't think so.

I had, you know, continuing to get good reports around the country.

Rizzo is getting his labor people all lined up.

They're hitting the press now.

Good.

Couldn't be in better shape.

They're putting some more heat on the Democrats for their fundraising violations.

I would sure do that.

Well, we got a pretty good play on that over this weekend.

I was surprised that we got quite as much publicity out of that.

We are continuing to dig into that, are we?

Yes, sir.

And, of course, McGovern refunded some of the money they have read this weekend.

No, I didn't know that.

Oh, yes, some of the money received from overseas returns, which was received illegally.

his latest violence and see if there's more things.

So I said, we'll at least help want the crap that the Washington Post was promoting today, which of course we're not going to pick up tonight.

Did the networks use it big?

Not too big.

They used it, but O. Daniel Shore was not too big.

And what he said tonight, frankly, was really, with the exception of sending Charlotte to Hanoi, which to me is a disaster.

He didn't say anything that he hasn't said before.

Those who stayed through that speech and watched it are the same people who he's had all along.

He certainly didn't make any converts out of tonight's meeting.

Right.

Well, okay.

We'll just keep the pressure on him.

Keep putting it to him.

Fine.

Thank you.

Nixon phone call with Colson on 1972 Presidential Election and Vietnam War

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on October 11, 1972

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