Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 201 › Conversation 201-013

Nixon phone call with Colson on Campaign strategy and Vietnam War

Saturday, August 12, 1972 · 10:35 AM–11:11 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation201-013 on Tape 201StartSaturday, August 12, 1972 at 10:35 AMEndSaturday, August 12, 1972 at 11:11 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 201-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss campaign messaging strategy, specifically focusing on the administration’s credibility and the successful transition to an all-volunteer military. They emphasize leveraging the reduction of draftees and the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam as key accomplishments to highlight during the reelection campaign. Nixon underscores the importance of publicizing these defense-related achievements to bolster his political standing against opponents.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 35% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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off.
Well, how are things going today?
Good.
Your tag is credibility.
Now, of course, we fill them up some this way.
It gets in as a fact that you've got to respond
He responded yet.
You can check the bios, I think.
I told him to check it.
There's the godsend.
And Ben Williams is thinking to listen to himself.
But that's all right.
Right ahead.
He ought to particularly get a defense expenditure in order to recover.
No draft.
We've got so many men out of the armed services.
We've got five men out of Vietnam.
We're not drafting any, no draftees in Vietnam.
And the number of draftees around is so many.
And it is going to be zero.
And that's a tremendous accomplishment.
We've got the campaign.

NARA Description

On August 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 10:35 am to 11:11 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 201-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 201-13

Date: August 12, 1972
Time: 10:35 am - 11:11 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 137-8; three items have been withdrawn]

Also recorded on August 12, 1972

  • 137-006 8:30 PM · 17 sec — Edward R. F. Cox, Clarence D. Palmby, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 10:20 pm.
  • 137-007 8:50 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:50 am and 10:35 am.
  • 201-010 8:50 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:50 am and 10:35 am.
  • 137-008 10:35 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 10:35 am to 11:11 am.
  • 201-014 11:11 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:11 am and 7:10 pm.
  • 199-001 12:58 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 12:58 pm on August 12, 1972 and 9:38 am on August 13, 1972.
  • 201-015 12:58 PM · 13 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:58 pm and 7:10 pm.
  • 201-016 12:58 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:58 pm and 7:10 pm.

All 10 conversations from August 12, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 201-013, August 12, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/201-013 (accessed October 12, 2026).