Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 277 › Conversation 277-007

Nixon & Haig on Foreign aid and Foreign policy

Wednesday, September 15, 1971 · 12:24 PM–12:25 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation277-007 on Tape 277 (tape position 00:13:19–00:14:31)StartWednesday, September 15, 1971 at 12:24 PMEndWednesday, September 15, 1971 at 12:25 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 277-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directed Alexander Haig to formulate a strategy for reducing foreign aid to specific nations, explicitly targeting countries that lack contested democratic elections. Nixon dismissed concerns regarding the political optics or difficulty of such a policy, insisting that the process of cutting aid to these governments would be straightforward. This brief discussion prioritized the strategic realignment of American foreign assistance by conditioning it on domestic political governance.

Audio

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Position in tape: 00:13:19 – 00:14:31

277a.mp3
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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Now, the way I want that, I want you to prepare this as you're working on this part, the second part of this.
The state of today is aid in one form or another.
I don't get what I care it is, or in Africa you don't need to give 25,000 to the ambassador.
That's aid to blind countries.
Okay.
Okay.
The United States were to cut off a few countries whose present leaders were not elected in a contested election.
That, to some degree, means to Americans that we would have to cut off a few blank countries to get the money.
Now, no, forget that to me.
It's very easy.
It's very easy.
I should have thought of it earlier.
Okay.

NARA Description

On September 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:24 pm to 12:25 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 277-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 277-7

Date: September 15, 1971
Time: 12:24 pm - 12:25 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 9-19]

Also recorded on September 15, 1971

  • 009-017 12:18 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 12:18 pm to 12:20 pm.
  • 277-006 12:18 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:18 pm to 12:20 pm.
  • 009-018 12:20 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:20 pm and 12:24 pm.
  • 009-019 12:24 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 12:24 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 009-020 12:25 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:25 pm and 12:37 pm.
  • 009-021 12:37 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 12:37 pm to 12:39 pm.
  • 277-008 12:37 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:37 pm to 12:39 pm.
  • 009-022 12:39 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:39 pm and 2:32 pm.

All 57 conversations from September 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 277-007, September 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/277-007 (accessed October 9, 2026).