Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 168 › Conversation 168-008

Nixon phone call with Cox on Year of Europe and Watergate scandal

Saturday, June 2, 1973 · 10:07 AM–10:11 AM ET · Camp David Study Table · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Cox, Tricia NixonConversation168-008 on Tape 168StartSaturday, June 2, 1973 at 10:07 AMEndSaturday, June 2, 1973 at 10:11 AMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 168-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Tricia Nixon Cox, discussed the success of his recent diplomatic trip to Iceland and its role in advancing his "Year of Europe" policy, specifically noting productive meetings with French President Georges Pompidou. The conversation contrasted this international progress with the ongoing distractions of the Watergate scandal, which Nixon lamented dominated domestic press coverage. Tricia encouraged her father to maintain high-profile engagements, such as the upcoming visit by Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, to help shift public focus away from Watergate and alleviate political pressure.

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
How are you?
Well, we're fine.
Mama said you saw a movie last night, but you had to work so late.
Uh-huh.
And the time changed, you know?
Yeah, but that was fine.
But it was a good trip, wasn't it?
Yeah, it was very successful, actually.
You know, you can't...
It's too complex.
Well, not confidential, but complex for the most people understand, but it was the getting the French cooperation was critical to us to get to our whole European, new European policy this year.
The French have been very difficult, but the meeting with Pompidou sealed it, so we got it done.
So it was a very successful meeting.
anything from his look and all.
It looked very successful.
The picture, right?
His words, yeah.
There's a good picture in the Times today.
Oh, is there?
Very good.
Oh, that's good.
Excellent.
And it really looked like there was a lot of accord and all.
Well, that's great.
That's great.
Well, the pictures are what matter.
Yeah, words are important too, but for you, yeah, there's the important thing.
Yeah.
So I'm so glad to hear that.
Yeah, but it went very well, you know.
You really get out there.
We had a...
They're very big.
There was supposed to be a lot of anti-American demonstrations.
There were none.
You know, and because of us, because they're having a fight with the British.
Right, I know about the cops.
On the other hand, when we left, a very nice thing happened.
About 3,000 or 4,000 came to the airport.
Oh, really?
Of the Americans who were stationed there and their wives.
And my gosh, they were something.
The thing is, when you get out of places like that and around the world, Trish, I mean,
You never know anything about this damn Watergate.
Well, it just shows how important it's going to be in the long run.
Sure.
It's something that nags us and worries us and irritates us here.
And it's particularly when you have to read the Washington Post every day and so forth.
Forget it.
It's in the Times and the networks and so forth.
On the other hand, if you look at this last week, we began to make a little do's ourselves, you know, getting out.
That's right.
And, Dad, the more you do that, and when Brezhnev comes to visit, the more you do this, the better.
Because that's the only thing that's going to count in the long run.
The Brezhnev visit, for example, is terribly important.
From a news standpoint, it will tend to dominate the other.
It will have to.
For a while.
It will just have to.
That's right.
The other thing, too, is that my feeling is that people eventually get tired of this damn Watergate thing.
I don't know.
What do you think?
Yeah, I really think that you're going to find that.
Because I think they're going to become immune to it, in fact.
Oh, I think one of the senators was saying that, you know, he was finding people becoming immune to it because it was on so much.
So in the long run, that's going to work for us.
Yeah, well, it's been a pretty rough thing we've done, but you're telling me about yourself.

NARA Description

On June 2, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at Camp David from 10:07 am to 10:11 am. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 168-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 168-8

Date: June 2, 1973
Time: 10:07 am and 10:11 am
Location: Camp David Study Table

The President talked with Tricia Nixon Cox.

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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 3 s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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       President’s schedule
             -Movie, June 2, 1973
                   -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
             -Trip to Iceland
                   -Significance
                          -Year of Europe
                                -Complexity
                                -France’s cooperation
                                      -Difficulties
                          -Georges J. R. Pompidou
                                -Press coverage
                                -New York Times photograph
                   -Lack of demonstrations
                          -Anti-American [protest]
                                             -6-

                 NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                           Conversation No. 168-8 (cont’d)

                     -Iceland – Great Britain relations
                           -Cod fishing
                -Send-off
                     -US presence
                           -Military
                     -Watergate
                           -International attention

     Watergate
          -Press relations
                -Significance
                -Washington Post, New York Times, television [TV] networks
          -Leonid I. Brezhnev visit
                -Significance
                -Coverage

     Watergate
          -Public opinion
          -Unknown Senator’s reaction

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[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

     President’s schedule
           -Sleep
                 -Travel
                      -Time change

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
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Also recorded on June 2, 1973

  • 168-007 9:56 AM · 17 sec — Camp David operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:56 am and 10:07 am.
  • 168-009 10:19 AM · 10 min — Camp David operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:29 am.
  • 168-010 10:29 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:29 am and 10:54 am.
  • 168-011 10:54 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:54 am and 11:13 am.
  • 168-012 10:54 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:54 am and 11:13 am.
  • 168-013 11:13 AM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:13 am to 11:24 am.
  • 168-014 11:24 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:38 am.
  • 168-015 11:38 AM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:38 am to 11:39 am.

All 17 conversations from June 2, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 168-008, June 2, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/168-008 (accessed October 12, 2026).