Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 160 › Conversation 160-008
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Public Relations and Congressional Relations
Friday, January 5, 1973 · 8:50 PM–9:00 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 9 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the necessity of strengthening the administration's public relations and political operations to counter anticipated Democratic opposition in Congress and potential interference with Vietnam peace negotiations. The President emphasized the need to coordinate key personnel—specifically Ronald Ziegler, William Timmons, and Clark MacGregor—to move from a defensive posture to a more proactive political strategy. Additionally, Nixon reviewed ongoing efforts to manage congressional leadership roles and party activities, including the recruitment of Clarence J. Brown Jr. for candidate development and the repositioning of Robert Dole and George H. W. Bush.
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Hello?
Yes, sir.
Well, Bob, are you home?
Yeah.
Oh, good.
Good.
Anything new?
No.
Nothing.
No change in anything.
I tried to reach Connelly.
He's still at Montego Bay.
Good for him.
So I'll catch him on Monday.
Fine.
That's all right.
Don't bother him down there.
No, well, I didn't want to, and I held off.
I thought he was going to be back last night, but he's staying until Sunday.
Right.
Right.
We'll catch him when he gets back and there's really nothing else of any importance.
I think that the main thing we've got to consider now is the question of our attack operation, you know, as to whether it's adequate and so forth.
And we'll take a hard look at that over the Monday or so.
seeing whether we are dismantling too much at a time that we may need it to imbue with the kind of the battle that we're going to be confronted with with the Congress.
What do you think about that?
I think it's possible.
We're really not dismantling anything.
Yeah.
Well, in any event, we don't have to decide anything now.
The main thing is to consider the people that we have and the ones that will be useful and the ones that will not be useful.
And having a good group that we can, you know, depend upon when we have to move on this issue or that issue, as the case might be.
And I'm going to have Henry up here tomorrow to go over a...
business about his uh next meetings right and uh but beyond that the uh that it's the pr side that i think is very important at this point matter of fact it occurred to me that we really ought to have somebody with henry when he's over there you know to tell him not to smile and things of that sort well yeah we should in a way he broke the wall with anybody i think the uh
I talked to him about the not smiling, and he got the point, although he resented Rogers having said... Oh, yeah, well, Rogers should not have mentioned it at that thing, you know what I mean?
Rogers was taking a pot shot at him, which he shouldn't have done, because we all knew it was the wrong thing to do, but on the other hand, he shouldn't have... You know, Rogers was just trying to rub it into him in front of others.
You don't do that.
Yep.
But that's Bill for you.
But he knows, he argues that, you know, he was doing it before because he didn't want it to look like things were broken down and all that.
But he overlooks the fact that it was before that when we didn't want to look so gleeful that he was also doing it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I think he's got the point on it.
You see, you've got to get, basically, you've got to get Ziegler and...
and Timmons and the rest all sort of together in the sense that they've got to understand everything and play the whole PR thing for all it's worth rather than just sort of looking at the hot news.
And you'll have a chance to talk to them perhaps on Monday and go over the whole thing with them.
But let's take a real good look at what our apparatus is and
If it's not adequate, we'll stiffen it up a bit.
You know, having in mind the fact that the campaign is over, but there's another campaign now.
It never stops, really.
It pretty never does, does it?
And I think that it isn't just the fact that we do strike out quite often with the senators and congressmen.
It's better to have something rather than nothing, isn't it?
Oh, yeah.
and uh the question is not whether we do something it's whether we can do whether we can get more by doing it in a different way and i think it could be i think we can go to get ziggler in on it and talk to him about a little if he can over the weekend and see what he thinks and uh we'll get henry in after he leaves but uh the handling of the pr next week is very important and we've got to be in a position to
You know, not to be always on the defensive.
Yep.
Well, as a matter of fact, we're faced, of course, with the Democrats acting up in their usual way here, but more than you would expect because they know what's up and their actions are really to the point where they...
probably could really jeopardize the negotiations.
This is one time they really could.
And they know it.
They must know it.
They can't be doing it innocently or, you know.
No.
But the important thing is how it all comes out.
So that's the thing I keep emphasizing to Henry not to get concerned about
the Canadian Parliament.
He was all worried about it because he said, the hell with it.
What do we care what the Canadian Parliament does or even the Congress?
On the other hand, we've got to have a few of our guys stepping up to some of this stuff now, you see.
And that's where we need the, you know, the apparatus.
Give it a little thought.
You know, talk to Ziegler about it and maybe Timmons.
And, uh,
You may have some ideas.
McGregor might have some ideas that could be useful, too.
Don't you think so?
Yeah, you may.
I think we ought to...
I've got to tell you, I had a talk with Ford, and they had to make a deal with the Wilson because Brown wasn't willing to fight.
So what is going to happen is they're going to... Wilson has agreed that he will resign three days before the dinner on March 28th, and I said, well...
Okay, Jerry, if that's what you want to do.
But I said, let's have with the understanding that he appoints Brown as the candidate recruitment man so that he can start immediately.
And he said, okay.
So that's the way it's going to be, I think.
That's incredible.
It's not incredible.
It's the way they act.
But on the other hand, if he gets Brown in the candidate recruitment thing, then we can start dealing with Brown and Brock on that subject and just ignore Wilson.
Don't you agree?
Yeah.
Oh, good, good.
You really think so?
Good.
knows what it is he knows what he ought to do without having to be programmed good which is even more important very good and he understands the game and i think he can be trusted and i certainly agree right just be quite a difference yeah yeah and as you pointed out earlier today the fact that we've got dole out there he'll be more valuable to us now that's right
I think he's back where he's useful instead of in where he didn't fit.
That's right.
But Bush, his morale is good, is it?
Oh, yeah.
Very.
Good.
And he's ready to go out and start fighting when the time comes, right?
Yep.
Yep.
Good.
He's right on track.
He's not going to be an attack type.
No, no, no.
That's not his game.
We mustn't have him do that either.
But he is talking about, you know, how he can help with the congressional thing and that he recognizes the problem there.
And I think he's going to be very useful.
Right.
He doesn't want to get into Tim and Tara or anything, but he thinks there are ways that he can, as party chairman, can work in.
Right.
And give the upbeat feel that Timmons really can't give because he just isn't that type of fellow.
Timmons can get votes, but he is not good at taking the appearance before the leaders today.
I mean, Timmons, he was all for it, but he didn't quite understand how to broker it.
Yeah.
Okay, well...
Have a good weekend.
Okay, sir.
NARA Description
On January 5, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:50 pm to 9:00 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 160-008 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 160-8
Date: January 5, 1973
Time: 8:50 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table
The President talked with H. R (“Bob”) Haldeman.
[See Conversation No. 239-8]
Haldeman’s location
John B. Connally
-Location
-Schedule
Public relations [PR] efforts
-Question of adequacy
-Relations with Congress
-Haldeman’s view
-Personnel
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Possible demeanor in Paris
-Conversation with Haldeman
-William P. Rogers
-10-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 160-8 (cont’d)
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-William E. Timmons
-Post-campaign activities
-Relations with Congress
-Ziegler
-Kissinger
-Importance
-Democrats
-Vietnam negotiations
-Canadian Parliament
-Kissinger
-Congress
-Ziegler
-Timmons
-Clark MacGregor
*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]
The President’s conversation with Gerald R. Ford
-Robert C. (“Bob) Wilson
-Clarence J. (“Bud”) Brown, Jr.
-Candidate recruitment
-William E. Brock, III
Haldeman’s conversation with George H. W. Bush
-Bush qualities
[End of segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************
Congressional activities
-Robert J. Dole
-Senate role
-George H. W. Bush
-Role
-Timmons
-11-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 160-8 (cont’d)
-Congressional leaders
-AbilitiesAlso recorded on January 6, 1973
- 160-005 8:31 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:31 pm and 8:47 pm.
- 239-005 8:31 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:31 pm and 8:47 pm.
- 239-010 8:31 PM · 12 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:31 pm and 8:47 pm.
- 160-006 8:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:47 pm to 8:49 pm.
- 239-006 8:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:47 pm to 8:49 pm.
- 160-007 8:49 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:49 pm to 8:50 pm.
- 239-007 8:49 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:49 pm to 8:50 pm.
- 239-008 8:50 PM · 10 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:50 pm to 9:00 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 160-008, January 6, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/160-008 (accessed October 25, 2026).