Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 317 › Conversation 317-017
Nixon & Mitchell on Electoral strategy and Democratic primary
Monday, January 24, 1972 · 4:27 PM–4:55 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 16 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and John Mitchell discuss political strategy for the upcoming election cycle, including managing federal funding for municipal support and monitoring the Democratic primary field. The conversation covers the political viability of various candidates, specifically mentioning George Wallace and Hubert Humphrey, while addressing concerns about party loyalty and public perception. The two also evaluate the necessity of maintaining consistent engagement with key local political figures like Frank Rizzo to secure future electoral support.
- Electoral strategy
- Democratic primary
- Political financing
- John Mitchell
- George Wallace
- Hubert Humphrey
- Frank Rizzo
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 11 minutes of this recording (about 66% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.
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Hello?
Hi, John, how are you?
Yeah, we did.
I spent about a couple of days on these two nights over at Walker's, so that was pleasant.
The weather was fine, not the best, but good enough.
Thank you.
We're ready for the next week.
We're going to go tomorrow night on our field.
How about that?
I just finished my draft, just this minute, so we'll get it on the way, get it on the crew board, you know, it'll make some hell.
Do you think so?
Well, it's a very well-done draft.
I really believe it's, you know, a matter of fact.
Good job, you know, John McLaughlin, everything he had, you know, six months, you know,
Where does the now stand?
Is there any chance to get none?
Sure.
Do they have a candidate?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I have a chance.
I don't know.
In other words, we're not going down there to use the Senate.
We're going to drop a little more dust.
No.
No.
Well, Max has a little time.
Anyway, he's doing pretty good.
He's making great decisions.
And he looks like, you know, he's doing great.
He's doing great.
He's doing great.
We had a very good talk with Rizzo today.
He was in, and they talked about getting money from the government.
And, of course, what to do.
And they revealed the whole board, all the way.
Yes, sir, we had a few arguments.
And Rizzo said, he said the question was wrong.
He agreed with the 2011 convention.
Otherwise, they'd tell them before that.
They'll say, you're going to wait and see whether or not you're going to have any party announcement or not.
You can't have any support.
They don't want to stay loose.
Those facts will have one hell of an effect.
They'll just stay loose and they'll break.
The only good thing they need to be done in the first anniversary of all of this is to be effective.
And second, I feel very welcome to follow through on the money front.
In other words, the LEAA, transportation, and the other money that came after that.
And third, just to keep an awful close touch with them, you know?
I mean, that's right.
Right.
And absolutely, I can, I think, go a long way.
And I think people just think about everything for a few weeks or so.
That's right.
comfortable, and I also look up there.
You ask him that.
Yeah.
That's what I meant.
I think he looked, he asked.
He says, he says, he guaranteed very much in that case.
Of course, his line is very popular in the city of America.
And he's like, without you, it's a little small.
Even if it is a Jewish place.
Oh, sure, of course they are, yeah.
The entire John of Forest Hills looks like that, too, I think.
Brother John, Lindsey, and all that.
What else is he going to do?
He's going to play ball with our friend Buckley.
Why?
Oh, I see now.
You're right, you're right, you're right.
What do you hear on the whole noise?
Is the gunner doing some better out there, or is it kind of not what it looks like?
All right, all right.
It's the same situation we are experiencing when we get marred.
We already have hope, but it's just a question of getting the service and the public to get rid of the marred people.
You know, a Democrat.
Oh, I didn't know I had it.
Yeah.
I heard that Les Aaron is a person who can't pay more.
What are they trying to do?
They can't pay as little as they can.
Percy certainly isn't in trouble with it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, you're right.
He goes to every damn thing, John.
He goes there, he's got fish fry and so forth, and that's always very good.
I hope you're getting the pull together now, or else it won't.
Back in the after hours, you know, you blitz back in the stadium.
You've got some highlights in the game, at least one area you ought to be better on.
This time, you played well.
You couldn't have been better.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We need it.
We need every one of them.
Yeah.
We ought to have a subject on it.
What do you think Br'er Wallace is?
He runs well in Florida.
He will back here.
He's a giant, and there is a cool, awesome part of him.
It's not really, not really true.
I'm trying to select there, but I don't want to call it personal.
How long do you think Hubert can survive?
Do you think he'll go?
He said he could do it.
He would help him with the whole thing because he's getting a hell of a lot of listeners.
On the other hand, it can't last.
It can't last in the sense that it's so damn early.
Although he will get those kind of primaries.
And then if he doesn't, that's a great way to cut you off.
The records, I figured, are 79% of the people.
All right.
Okay, I'll head back to my stage and try to figure out something to say to the people tomorrow.
But I think we've got a pretty good offering.
Well, we'll see.
They'll have to squeal for a while.
We should see if our friends tell me about the collapse.
They're not going to collapse.
I follow other reports on this.
We always, of course, get very frightened.
You know, predictions about high ones and bad ones.
And they're going to have some attacks, but my God, it's obvious to me that they're going to come under an American aircraft.
And I hope they're going to come under an American aircraft.
They're going to come under an American aircraft.
They're going to come under an American aircraft.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
I'll do it.
Try to build up.
Yeah.
That's right.
Mm-hmm.
That's... That's...
Okay, John.
John.
NARA Description
On January 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:27 pm to 4:55 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 317-017 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 317-017
Date: January 24, 1972
Time: 4:27 pm - 4:55 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with John N. Mitchell.
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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/03/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[317-017-w002]
[Duration: 1m 21s]
[See Conversation No. 019-053-w002]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
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**************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/03/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[317-017-w003]
[Duration: 35s]
[See Conversation No. 019-053-w003]
**************************************************************************
**************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/03/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[317-017-w004]
[Duration: 2m 23s]
[See Conversation Nos. 019-053-w004; 019-053-w007]
**************************************************************************
**************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/03/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[317-017-w005]
[Duration: 6m 23s]
[See Conversation No. 019-053-w005]
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542
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[End of telephone conversation]Also recorded on January 24, 1972
- 019-050 4:05 PM · 8 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:20 pm.
- 019-051 4:05 PM · 2 min — Henry A. Kissinger, William L. Safire, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:20 pm.
- 019-052 4:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:20 pm and 4:27 pm.
- 317-016 4:20 PM · 9 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 4:20 pm and 4:27 pm.
- 019-053 4:27 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 4:27 pm to 4:55 pm.
- 317-018 4:55 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:55 pm.
- 654-001 4:55 PM · 1 hr 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, William S. White, unknown person(s), Peter M. Flanigan, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
- 019-054 4:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William S. White talked on the telephone from 4:59 pm to 5:02 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 317-017, January 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/317-017 (accessed October 6, 2026).