Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 273 › Conversation 273-046

Nixon & Safire on Economic Policy and Speechwriting

Sunday, August 15, 1971 · 7:14 PM–7:24 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.Conversation273-046 on Tape 273 (tape position 04:27:36–04:34:27)StartSunday, August 15, 1971 at 7:14 PMEndSunday, August 15, 1971 at 7:24 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 273-046 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with speechwriter William Safire to refine the content, tone, and delivery of a forthcoming address regarding national economic policy. The discussion focused on addressing foreign competition, the automotive industry, and historical parallels to the American Revolution to frame the administration's proposed economic shifts. The two evaluated potential revisions to the speech's phraseology to ensure it effectively communicated the President's vision for a new economic future.

Audio

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Position in tape: 04:27:36 – 04:34:27

part C, 22:57

273a.mp3
273b.mp3
273c.mp3

NARA Description

On August 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:14 pm to 7:24 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-046 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 273-46

Date: August 15, 1971
Time: 7:14 pm - 7:24 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with William L. Safire.

     President's forthcoming speech on economy
          -Content and phraseology
                 -Possible changes
                       -Foreign competition
          -Distribution of text
          -Content and phraseology
                 -Possible changes
                       -American Revolution
                       -Automobile industry
                             -Safire's conversation with Herbert Stein
                             -Unknown man's view
                             -Business
                 -Possible changes
                       -Devaluation
                       -Post-World War II world
                       -Rose Mary Woods

           -Preparation
                -President's delivery
                -Rose Mary Woods

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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In full cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and those who trade with us, we will press for the necessary reforms to set up an urgently needed new international monetary system.
Stability and equal treatment is in everybody's best interest.
I am determined that the American dollar must never again be a hostage in the hands of international speculators.
I will make one further step to protect the dollar to improve our balance of data and to increase United States jobs.
I am today imposing an additional tax of 10% on goods imported into the United States.
This is a better solution for international trade than directing trolls with the amount of exports.
This import tax is a temporary option, not directed against any other country, but an action to make certain that American products will not be at a disadvantage because of unfair exchange rates.
There is no longer any need for the United States to compete with one hand tied behind their back.
The range of actions I have taken and proposed tonight, on the job front, on the inflation front, on the monetary front, is the most comprehensive and economic policy to be undertaken in legislation in four decades.
We are fortunate to live in a nation with an economic system capable of producing for its people the highest standard of living in the world, a system flexible enough to change its way dramatically when circumstances call for change, and most important, a system resourceful enough to produce prosperity with freedom and opportunity unmatched in the history of nations.
The purpose of the never-ending actions I have announced tonight is to lay to the faces, through an encounter,
to make it possible for us to compete fairly with the rest of the world, to open the door to new prosperity.
A government with all its powers does not hold the key to the success of the people.
That key, my fellow learners, is in your hands.
A nationwide person has to have a certain inner drive in order to succeed.
An economic bear's inner drive is called the competitive spirit.
Every action I have taken tonight is designed to nurture and stimulate that competitive spirit.
They help us snap out of that self-doubt and self-despairing that saps our energy and erodes our confidence in ourselves.
Whether this nation stays number one in the world's economy or resigns itself to second, third, or fourth place, whether we as a people insist on our faith in ourselves or lose that faith, we will.
instill our faith in ourselves, or lose our faith.
Whether we hold fast to the strength that makes peace and freedom possible in this world, or lose our faith, all that depends on your competitive spirit, your sense of personal destiny, your pride in your country, and your soul.
We can be certain of this.
As a drug of war receives challenging, peaceful competition in the world and in Greece, we welcome competition.
Thank you.
She is called on to compete.
And no nation has anything to fear from our competition because we lead our competitors on to new heights for their own people.
As there has always been in our history, there will be voices urging us to shrink from that challenge, to build a protective wall around ourselves, to call their wish out to the rest of the world who is ahead.
Two hundred years ago, a man wrote in his diary, Many thinking people believe America has seen its best days.
That was written in 1775, at the dawn of the most exciting era in the history of man, the birth of the American nation.
Today, we hear the echoes of those voices, preaching a gospel of gloom and defeat, saying the same thing, we have seen our best days.
I say, let Americans reply, our best days lie ahead of us.
As we move into a new generation of peace, as we praise the trail toward a new prosperity, I say to every American, let us raise our spirits.
Let us raise our sights.
Let all of us contribute all we can to the great and good country that contributes so much to the progress of mankind.
Let us invest in our nation's future.
And let us revitalize that faith in ourselves that built a great nation in the past and that will shape the world in the future.
Hello.
Yeah.
I was wondering about one thing that might probably be an unintended slap of other countries, where we're talking about our competition for the donation of anything that's here from our competition, because we are competitive, and it's nice for other people to gain from our competition.
No nation has anything to fear from my competition.
You know, he wasn't as American as everybody.
He's more of a... You see, it just sort of puts them in the position of kind of we're leading and they're following.
You see, rather than the real, what we're really trying to say here is that competition will bring the best out of us and the best out of them.
That's really what we're saying.
You're welcome, Mike.
I don't think the thought particularly as, and it might be misunderstood,
It really needed to be said, because America's got to wait until she's grown up.
They don't need it, because basically, anybody can say this.
They expect us to say that, and that's exactly what they would say.
I think that's a cool thing for them to come out with.
There's no problem with that.
We're not supposed to text out to them.
We're not supposed to text out to them.
There's a small one that you might write and observe.
You know, that was in 1777, 75, at the dawn of our most exciting era in the history of man.

Also recorded on August 15, 1971

  • 273-047 7:24 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:24 pm and 7:34 pm.
  • 273-048 7:24 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:24 pm and 7:34 pm.
  • 273-049 7:34 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:34 pm to 7:36 pm.
  • 273-050 7:36 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:36 pm and 8:55 pm.
  • 273-051 7:36 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:36 pm and 8:55 pm.
  • 273-052 7:36 PM · 38 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 7:36 pm and 8:55 pm.
  • 273-053 7:36 PM · 33 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 7:36 pm and 8:55 pm.
  • 273-054 7:36 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:36 pm and 8:55 pm.

All 70 conversations from August 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 273-046, August 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-046 (accessed November 2, 2026).