Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 203 › Conversation 203-019

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on George McGovern and Vietnam War negotiations

Thursday, August 17, 1972 · 1:15 PM–2:45 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation203-019 on Tape 203StartThursday, August 17, 1972 at 1:15 PMEndThursday, August 17, 1972 at 2:45 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 203-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman convened at Camp David to strategize on political messaging regarding George McGovern's campaign, specifically the potential diplomatic interference caused by McGovern's contacts with North Vietnamese officials. They reviewed Press Secretary Ron Ziegler’s public handling of the issue, commending his framing of the situation as a security risk given McGovern’s refusal to accept formal briefings on current peace negotiations. Additionally, the President praised Charles Colson for his keen identification of political vulnerabilities, including his timely focus on farm parity issues.

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 27% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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It's a pretty miserable day up here, but anyway, it's a nice day.

You've done a good job.

I don't know what he said.

Comments came in response to questions of whether contacts made by Salinger were helpful, harmful, or in any way affected President's negotiations.

Ron said when a representative for the opposition candidate is in touch with the North Vietnamese, this could jeopardize the President's efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement.

When asked how they would jeopardize, Ziegler noted that McGovern has declined to be briefed on the negotiating efforts now underway.

Though not mentioning Salinger by name, he said McGovern's representative could say something

That's good.

That's pretty good.

It shows it's a serious thing that they did it wrong.

It sets it up and it doesn't put Ron into a debate as to what they did or didn't do.

You know, my government walked into another beauty that nobody noticed except Colson.

You've got to give him credit for that.

Colson's great.

Have you noticed more of that than almost anybody I know?

None of us saw it.

I glanced at the article and didn't read it.

My government made a big mark on it yesterday about...

Thank you.

NARA Description

On August 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 1:15 pm to 2:45 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 203-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 203-19

Date: August 17, 1972
Time: 1:15 pm - 2:45 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Weather

     The President’s forthcoming acceptance speech
          -Speechwriters

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 27m 26s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

     George S. McGovern
         -Contacts with North Vietnamese

               -Pierre E.G. Salinger
                    -Ronald L. Ziegler
                         -Press conference
                                -Wire reports
                                -Refusal to receive briefing on negotiations
          -Charles W. Colson
               -Farm prices
                    -Wheat, corn
                         -90% of parity

Haldeman left at 2:45 pm.

Also recorded on August 17, 1972

140-025 11:10 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 11:10 am.
140-026 11:22 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Camp David operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:22 am to 11:29 am.
203-017 11:22 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 11:22 am to 11:29 am.
203-018 11:29 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:29 am and 1:15 pm.
203-020 2:45 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 3:06 pm.
203-021 2:45 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 3:06 pm.
140-027 3:06 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Camp David operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at Camp David from 3:06 pm to 3:21 pm.
203-022 3:06 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 3:06 pm to 3:21 pm.

All 49 conversations from August 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 203-019, August 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/203-019 (accessed October 12, 2026).