Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 247 › Conversation 247-005

Nixon & Haldeman on John B. Connally and Cabinet management

Tuesday, April 13, 1971 · 6:00 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 55 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation247-005 on Tape 247 (tape position 03:03:33–03:04:36)StartTuesday, April 13, 1971 at 6:00 PMEndTuesday, April 13, 1971 at 6:00 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 247-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed strategies for managing political opposition, specifically focusing on the performance of Cabinet members. Nixon reflected on recent counsel from John B. Connally, who urged the administration to adopt a more aggressive, confrontational approach when dealing with Congress. The discussion emphasized the need for stronger executive leadership and decisive action to counter critics like Edmund Muskie.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
And, uh, you know, horses, you know, they come back from all this, and they're, you know, they're getting gas, and, uh, so it's really, really, you know, it's not selling.
It's not at all.
And, uh, you just have to take a lot of muscle to get it going.
You see it.
You see it.
When they made the war statement, he said, you can't tell the Congress to do that.
He said, by God.
He said, your cabinet should take them on.
They come to them.
He said, your cabinet should take them on.
They said, don't give anybody.
He told them to come on.
He said, kick them in the balls.
He said, and he also wrote a third one.
He said, come on.
He said, are you ready to go on?
They went forward, and I said, come on.

NARA Description

On April 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:00 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 247-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 247-5

Date: April 13, 1971
Time: 6:00 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     President’s conversation with John B. Connally
          -Edmund S. Muskie
          -Cabinet
           -President’s schedule

Also recorded on April 13, 1971

  • 042-032 4:25 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:25 pm and 4:40 pm.
  • 042-033 4:40 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gen. George A. Lincoln, and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 4:40 pm to 4:47 pm.
  • 042-034 6:00 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:01 pm.
  • 042-035 6:00 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:00 pm to 6:01 pm.
  • 247-006 6:00 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:00 pm to 6:01 pm.
  • 247-007 6:01 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:01 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 247-008 6:01 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:01 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 247-009 6:04 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:04 pm to 6:45 pm.

All 35 conversations from April 13, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 247-005, April 13, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/247-005 (accessed October 1, 2026).