Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 250 › Conversation 250-018

Nixon & Haldeman on Domestic unrest and Bombings

Friday, April 16, 1971 · 3:27 PM–5:30 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation250-018 on Tape 250 (tape position 03:38:19–03:46:03)StartFriday, April 16, 1971 at 3:27 PMEndFriday, April 16, 1971 at 5:30 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 250-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman discussed the political implications and costs associated with recent bombings of federal buildings and university campuses, specifically referencing arson at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Nixon expressed frustration regarding the prevalence of radical leftist activities and sought to compile comprehensive statistics on such incidents through the FBI and GSA. The conversation also touched upon press reporting, the rising stock market, and scheduling matters for upcoming meetings with figures such as Mike Mansfield.

Audio

Download MP3 · 9.8 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
I know that in California law, building in Santa Cruz is going to cost five million bucks.
All right.
You know, damn well, they're running the law.
There's a damn riot we've had here in Washington.
They've run very heavy on behalf of me and the boss.
I think what it is, in the marketing period, I think it's just a false story to tell.
I'll say it really fast.
I mean, you see, the lefties don't want to decide.
I think it's just a matter of going full-time and getting paid.
This is the federal government.
See Christ, what about the state?
What about the armies?
What about the state?
What about the colleges?
What about the state unions?
What about the burning Jesus Christ on the grave of God's full body?
Now the FBI actually got me to talk to Senator Jim Carrey, the incredible woman that I asked to send a letter on this yesterday.
We kind of discussed this, and it didn't work.
The man, he did not choose to send a letter.
He had a girl that he shipped out to the people.
This can't be false.
Hell, Christ, you can't get out and do this.
You've got to work for that anyway.
But somebody around here ought to be able to do that.
I mean, all you've got to do is agree.
I could do it.
My God, I'd have gotten an album.
I'd have had the time.
But they just got to learn how to do it.
You know?
You've got to learn how to do it.
You've got to learn how to do it.
I think I'm delighted that they have all the information out there.
Everybody's been hired and so have they.
Well, he's being a half-nature.
At least the day they brought the bullets.
That brought up a day for them, didn't it?
Well, I didn't mean to press, but just get rid of the gun.
It will not take more than an hour or so, I know, just to move on.
But rather than that, I want you to move on.
You have a kind of movement.
I have fears of a nice bird that I can't hold on to.
You know, a natural one.
I'm trying to hold it in my right.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Bird to get angry.
Oh, my God.

NARA Description

On April 16, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 250-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 250-18

Date: April 16, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

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

     Bombings
         -California
               -Cost of arson at Santa Cruz campus of University of California, April 8, 1971
         -Riots in Washington
         -Leftists

          -Costs
          -Figures from General Services Administration [GSA]
                -Bombings of federal buildings
                -Need for statistics on bombings in states
          -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
          -Patrick J. Buchanan
                -Investigation
          -Staff responsibility
                -John D. Ehrlichman

     Press story
           -George P. Shultz
           -Chicago
           -Harvard University
     Stock market
           -Rise
           -Record level

     President’s schedule
          -Buchanan
          -Interview with unknown man
          -Press
          -Appointments for April 17, 1971
                -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield
                -Peter G. Peterson
                -Mansfield

Also recorded on April 16, 1971

  • 250-016 3:15 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:15 pm to 3:27 pm.
  • 250-017 3:27 PM · 11 sec — Manolo Sanchez and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 250-019 3:27 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 250-020 3:27 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 250-021 3:27 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 250-022 3:27 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:27 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 482-030 3:47 PM · 15 sec — United States Secret Service agents and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:47 pm and 3:49 pm.
  • 042-055 5:30 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 5:30 pm to 5:32 pm.

All 51 conversations from April 16, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 250-018, April 16, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/250-018 (accessed October 3, 2026).