Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 169 › Conversation 169-005

Nixon, Eisenhower & Camp David operator on Leonid Brezhnev

Tuesday, June 19, 1973 · 11:05 PM–11:10 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 4 min

ParticipantsCamp David operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation169-005 on Tape 169StartTuesday, June 19, 1973 at 11:05 PMEndTuesday, June 19, 1973 at 11:10 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 169-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, discuss their respective public engagements and the ongoing, highly successful diplomatic visit of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Amidst the summit, Nixon emphasizes that the global importance of his negotiations outweighs the domestic political distractions of the Watergate scandal. Additionally, they discuss the positive reception of Julie’s recent public speaking, the upcoming schedule for David Eisenhower, and recent reports discrediting John Dean regarding financial misconduct.

Audio

Download MP3 · 7.9 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Mr. President, you call the BB Rebozo.
He is out to dinner right now.
Oh, you can skip it then.
Thank you.
I'll call him.
All right, sir.
And I have Julie now.
Good.
Go ahead, please.
Hi, Julie.
Daddy.
I just wanted to see how the thing went tonight.
Oh, listen, I can't tell you how friendly the group was.
Well, good.
Relievably friendly.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, they were just so friendly.
And also, it's interesting that
Your group today with the scholars is also friendly, huh?
Very friendly, yes.
You should have heard Brecht up tonight while we've been riding in cars and riding on the Sequoia.
My God, he really thinks I'm the greatest friend he's ever had.
Isn't that great?
Well, you know... Oh, God, it's so great.
The thing is that...
With all this wallowing in Watergate, my God, Brezhnev and I are deciding the future of the world.
I know it.
These bastards have got to understand that.
I know it.
It was so funny, in the news time we had said that the Russian press, did you read it?
It was so funny, the Russian press thinks that you should go out and shoot your enemies, and they think that the Watergate is a plot of the right wing.
Tell me about your 2000 that you spoke to.
Were they really friendly?
What did you talk about?
Well, I talked about how... Well, I talked about business and how the free enterprise system was so... Did you get into points about the 12 years and the 20 years and all that?
Yeah, and I talked about the opening of trade with China and how exciting it was to be in business nowadays and how significant bread has been in the world.
And they loved it, huh?
They loved it.
They were so friendly.
Uh-huh.
It was just really something.
Great.
Uh, I said about eight minutes, you see?
That's all, huh?
Yeah.
No, you know, I don't have that much to say.
Well, I know, but they loved it, didn't they?
They really were so great, I couldn't get over it.
Well, don't get as great as I want to get, because I talked to Brecksniff today for a long time.
He's got a new perspective, and you know, he doesn't even think about the goddamn thing.
He says, my God, we've got to get on and go on with the things of the world, Julie.
My point is, we've just got to quit worrying about wallowing in this damn thing.
I couldn't agree more.
I'm so glad to hear you say it.
I think that it's great that he's going to stay at San Clemente, don't you?
It's a very warm place.
He wants to stay in your own home and all that.
We're going to give him a hell of a show out there.
And I'm glad that he enjoyed the Sequoia.
That's kind of fun to have him on that.
Great job, David, don't you know?
Are both of you on?
Oh, yes.
We flew from Sequoia right to Camp David.
He wanted to spend the night here, so he came up here, and he said, is this dog good?
Wow.
We're going to spend the night here and tomorrow night here, too.
Good.
Yeah, that's good.
Oh, great.
Good.
We'll talk to David to keep this up, huh?
I sure will.
He's not disturbed, is he?
No, are you kidding?
He's going to go out and talk to the Jaycees next week.
Oh, good.
Yeah, that's a good group, don't you think?
Oh, it's terrific.
Yeah, it's a real treat.
Give him that stuff about the 12 years, the 8 years, and the 20 years.
Do you have those cheer lines?
Everyone has a cheer line.
Yeah, those are cheer lines.
Okay, sweetie.
Good.
Thanks for calling, Daddy.
I'm awfully proud of you.
Well, now, wait.
Let me tell you, this is going to be a rough time for a while with that damn Dean.
But, you know, they caught Dean in stealing now, you know?
I know.
I think he's been discredited.
Did you see the New York Times story on it?
I haven't, no.
Is that in the paper?
It's in the New York Times.
They pick it up.
Seymour Hersh, who's a bastard, caught him, and he stole $14,000.
My God.
Yeah, so get at it, honey.
Yeah, okay.
Well, give David my love.
I will, and you take care, and I'll talk to you soon.
All right, sweetie.
Okay, bye.

NARA Description

On June 19, 1973, Camp David operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:05 pm to 11:10 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 169-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 169-5

Date: June 19, 1973
Time: 11:05 pm - 11:10 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table

The Camp David operator talked to the President.

     Request for telephone call
          -Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
          -Julie Nixon Eisenhower

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.
                                          -5-

             NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 169-5 (cont’d)

Julie’s schedule
      -An unknown group
            -Friendliness
      -A group of scholars
            -Friendliness

President’s schedule
      -Leonid I. Brezhnev visit
            -Car
            -Sequoia
            -Relationship with President
            -Significance
                  -Future of world
                  -Watergate
                        -Importance of summit
                        -Response of Soviet Union press
                              -Political violence
                              -Right-wing conspiracy

Julie’s schedule
      -Meeting with unknown group
            -Friendliness
            -Speech by Julie Nixon Eisenhower
                  -Topics
                        -Business
                        -Free enterprise
                        -Trade with People’s Republic of China [PRC]
                  -Brezhnev’s visit
                        -Significance
                  -Length
                  -Reception

President’s schedule
      -Brezhnev visit
            -Watergate
                 -Insignificance
                                             -6-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 169-5 (cont’d)

                 -San Clemente
                 -Sequoia
                 -Camp David
                 -Dogwood lodge

     [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
          -Discouragement
          -A speech to Jaycees

     Watergate
          -John W. Dean, III
                -Handling of funds
                     -Public opinion
                     -New York Times story, June 19, 1973
                           -Seymour M. Hersh

     David Eisenhower
          -President’s greeting

Also recorded on June 20, 1973

  • 169-002 9:58 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 9:58 pm to 10:07 pm.
  • 169-003 10:07 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:07 pm and 11:05 pm.
  • 169-004 10:07 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:07 pm and 11:05 pm.
  • 169-006 11:10 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:16 pm.
  • 169-007 11:10 PM · 13 sec — Camp David operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:16 pm.
  • 169-008 11:10 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:10 pm and 11:16 pm.
  • 169-009 11:16 PM · 15 sec — Camp David operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:16 pm and 11:28 pm.
  • 169-010 11:28 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Nellie L. Yates talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:28 pm to 11:29 pm.

All 31 conversations from June 20, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 169-005, June 20, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/169-005 (accessed October 12, 2026).