Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 227 › Conversation 227-020
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Bob Dole and Republican National Committee
Sunday, November 19, 1972 · 6:59 PM–7:05 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 43 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discuss a strategy to force the resignation of Republican National Committee Chairman Bob Dole by orchestrating external pressure from party officials and regional leaders. By generating public calls for a full-time professional chairman, the President intends to distance the White House from the move and avoid the political heat associated with Dole's removal. Nixon instructs Haldeman to coordinate with John Mitchell to mobilize this grassroots-style campaign before the President personally meets with Dole.
- Bob Dole
- Republican National Committee
- John Mitchell
- Political Strategy
- Party Leadership
- Public Relations
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 3.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 19.4 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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Yeah.
Oh, I should have thought this earlier, but when you mentioned Mitchell and I, so maybe you may have done this already on, maybe because of my previous introduction, with regard to Dominic and Wilson and Bill, rather than having the heat come from us, and it occurred to you that perhaps some people, you know, in the House, the Senate, and in the National Committee might have
In other words, have somebody in the National Committee say, we've got to have a full-time chairman.
I mean, I'm reading the mail here.
There's a hell of a lot of letters in that effect.
Yeah, what are you doing about it?
What are you doing about it?
Why can't we do anything about it?
Why can't we take the heat?
Let's just get somebody in the National Committee to lead the charge.
I mean, whatever it is.
So that we don't do it here.
Otherwise, we're doing it.
Somebody in the National Committee, and then we respond to that by saying, yeah, we're lucky.
He's a great guy in the rest, but we need a full-time chairman in the same endowment.
And something that's got to be developed.
Remember, nothing has come out, unfortunately, in the present, but we've got to get Dominic and Wilson, you know, the tactic.
They're lousy candidates in the rest.
I really think that's necessary.
Well, what about Dole?
It would seem to me that that would be rather easy to get somebody from the National Committee to say that we need a full-time chairman, professional.
Who can you work on with that?
Fine.
All right.
All right.
Fine.
And get a hold of Mitchell.
When you get Mitchell, have you got him yet?
Get Mitchell.
We've got to build this fire for Dole's own good, for our own good.
and what's going on, so that we don't take the heat for it.
I don't think, I agree you can't sell the other things because we're going to get blamed for the houses and all the rest of our people with all of their good intentions if you haven't got the skill to handle that sort of thing.
But that's all right.
On the National Committee, they know it should be no problem because that's almost universal, except for Joe.
There should be a full-time chairman now that he should lead because he might be a candidate.
But let's have it roll about from there.
I agree, I agree, but I mean, just have it come from somebody.
Let's get it rolling so the guys don't get all under the cold.
You're right in getting Mitchell to talk to him first, but rather than just having Mitchell talk to him, Mitchell will stir up a few people around in California, New York, you know, the key states, Pennsylvania.
They call for it, you know, some guy calls for it.
And somebody, with regard to both Nominate and Wilson, I think so.
What I meant, Dominic Wilson, it would be good to have some young senator, like a Brock, speak out.
Well, maybe that'll hurt him in getting the job himself.
But at least somebody in the House might speak out and say, well, we need to change there.
You understand why you have to do it that way?
Because that way, then it doesn't, it puts the responsibility for what happens on them.
Rather than just having to go out and do that virtually, I would like to go out there virtually.
Okay, I guess not that I think of particularly on Dole, and so it should be so easy to get somebody to get hold of Mitchell to sort of start the back right before I see Dole, calling him on him to do it.
That'll make it easy for me, so I don't have to say, well, Bob, you've got to go.
And I think it's better to have Mitchell tell him he has to go, see, but the thing I'm concerned about is if we call Mitchell, Mitchell tells him he knows goddamn well it's me, but has somebody other than Mitchell or me
That's right.
That's right.
That's right.
Heritage could probably help on a thing like this, you know.
I mean, you know, just view this player like that.
Okay.
Are you up here yet?
Fine.
Well, and we'll see you at the...
You know, I was rather interested.
I saw the light cover and I thought that was pretty bad.
I just didn't want to rub it into Ron.
He probably beat the hell out of me.
He had a picture statement on the phone and I said, Ron, I don't mean to rub it in because
We did the best we could, but that was a deliberate sabotage job.
But he had ears of light.
They think that was the highest level.
Don't you agree?
What's wrong with you?
So what do you think we should do?
Keep seeing.
Keep sighting.
But that was such a deliberate thing, you know, with all the things that could have shown up.
That was a deliberate thing.
And has it occurred to anybody, I just hope it has, so that I don't have to raise such things as this, to have really, not only a few letters, but a non-intentional calling, Shepley and others, and others in Raising Hamel.
Has it occurred or not?
All right, then it occurred right this moment.
Give a few orders, I'll wait.
Okay.
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NARA Description
On November 19, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 6:59 pm to 7:05 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 227-020 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 227-20 Date: November 19, 1972 Time: Between 6:59 pm - 7:05 pm Location: Camp David Hard Wire The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman. [See Conversation No. 155-4]
Also recorded on November 19, 1972
- 155-003 1:15 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-005 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-006 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-007 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-008 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-009 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 227-010 1:15 PM · 15 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 6:59 pm.
- 155-004 6:59 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 6:59 pm to 7:05 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 227-020, November 19, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/227-020 (accessed October 9, 2026).