Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 251-024
Date: Thursday, April 29, 1971 at 9:50 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Old Executive Office Building
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/251-024

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] He's still up there.
[0:02] I'll...
[0:02] I'll get him on the phone and have him give the call, will you please?
[0:11] I see there's something on that Bruce is going to do on refugees in Paris today.
[0:16] Now, have you done anything to tell Scali about this so that you'll try to get it arrived to?
[0:23] Not yet.
[0:24] It's the 29th.
[0:24] I don't hear anything on the radio about it yet.
[0:28] So I just want to be sure that our people know that this is not just to be popped in there for nothing.
[0:34] Scali is in charge.
[0:35] He has responsibility, right?
[0:39] See, he can try to see how he can get this stuff in the road, like a ride.
[0:43] He's a coward, man.
[0:45] He's a coward.
[0:47] Well, I know he's a comedian.
[0:48] He's a character, you know.
[0:50] Well, he's a little bit like a crazy son of a bitch.
[0:53] You know what I'm saying?
[0:54] He's all crazy.
[0:55] You know what I'm saying?
[0:57] And he pulls it, right?
[1:00] You don't have any thought that I should do that to you?
[1:13] Fine.
[1:13] Let me just understand whether you, Scali, or anybody else have any idea I should do that.
[1:17] If they expect to make the speech, then I've got to start preparing one.
[1:21] In my view, I walk in the division and I have to do it in five minutes or less.
[1:27] You understand?
[1:28] In there in the sun, it's going to be hotter than hell.
[1:32] I don't have any other following.
[1:35] The point is, it's outside.
[1:37] Or am I wrong?
[1:38] Isn't it an outside affair of they're all standing at attention?
[1:43] As you, I'm studying for a restaurant off of Harrison.
[1:47] You know?
[1:49] Or is that still standing there?
[1:52] I'll work that out in the morning.
[1:56] That would be good.
[1:58] You've got to hold it back and off of those people.
[2:05] Sorry.
[2:07] They're going to come up and go out with you.
[2:10] They're out there.
[2:15] I think anything else in terms of your .
[2:39] I said, go, tell me about that, because I want him to be aware about it.
[2:46] I said, Eric, that's pretty good description of common, isn't it?
[2:52] Never uncertain.
[2:53] But, you know, how we train him, he is.
[2:56] You said most of our people sit around, they're, well, they can't be uncertain, but they sound uncertain because they're so goddamn unorganized.
[3:06] You know, those that don't speak up.
[3:08] I said, Eric,
[3:09] You know what I mean?
[3:13] Right.
[3:14] Right.
[3:16] On and on.
[3:35] Just say nothing.
[3:37] They often say, God damn it, I covered it, the editor's saying, the president covered it, and that's it.
[3:42] But that's what I want you to tell Bill, that I'm going to say the same thing, and I'm going to be very tough on that.
[3:48] I covered this situation, and that's all we're going to say right now.
[3:52] It may hurt his soul, or maybe it may hurt his disaster, his assassination.
[4:00] And not the law, but sharpening it.
[4:02] Not just because of the talking.
[4:04] Not because of what we do.
[4:05] They all respect what we do.
[4:05] But the dividend should not have been said.
[4:09] It's a bad word.
[4:12] It lends itself to that interpretation, though.
[4:15] Using the word dividend means we would welcome it.
[4:18] We don't want to say it.
[4:20] That's not our intent.
[4:22] We want the relations of both.
[4:23] We want them to have good relations with each other, period.
[4:28] Everything else he said was just from his mind.
[4:31] I guess I could put it more in terms of trying to get others to follow exactly what I say and lay off for a while.
[4:41] Regarding that, regarding the demonstrators and so forth, there's nothing further on that that I need to know.
[4:49] That's it.
[4:51] What else do we have?
[4:57] We never know what's going on, where we've been hit.
[4:59] We went right out of sight.
[5:00] It's not helpful.
[5:04] We can't call the police.
[5:06] Our policy is to call the police.
[5:10] Maybe let McGregor call them.
[5:11] Maybe McGregor needs to call them.
[5:14] That's better.
[5:16] That's better.
[5:17] That's better.
[5:19] That's better.
[5:19] That's better.
[5:23] That's better.