On May 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:09 pm and 12:13 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 338-025 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
I guess I wanted to make a little apology.
You know, when I talked to you Sunday, I didn't know about that goddamn letter, and I have raged hell around here.
Well, you see, what happened is that we had a forum, and apparently the letters and all that sort of thing were presented, but not certainly for the purpose of publication.
And I just raged hell, and I may have told God.
It'll never happen, it'll never happen, and I'm just sorry to embarrass you, but I, frankly, maybe it'll help me a little bit, but as you know, I just don't want to, I didn't want to put me in a position of being against you on something.
It'd just burn my ass, believe me.
Well,
Sure, sure.
Well, it was one of those things.
I was writing my speech at that time, and I just didn't have any idea what was going on.
Well, I tell you, you've been a great support of some of this, and we've done the right thing.
What did you put a statement out?
Oh, good.
I'm going to get them at noon, so I'll be treating them all, so...
I think we can...
But if they cancel the summit, we're going to say, well, don't you think we just say, well, because I think you would agree I couldn't possibly go to Moscow with Russian pants rumbling around through the streets of the UAE.
Yeah, that's right.
We don't take too much heat from what they call the witnessing liberals in there.
Well, I appreciate your, but I must say I was so embarrassed when I came in.
See, I didn't know, but as a matter of fact, I got in the next morning and I picked up, I had to see the paper.
I picked up the paper and I thought, what in the name of God is this?
And I didn't really know what to see.
And when you talked to me about it, I didn't know what it was about.
Unbelievable.
You see, but I, over the weekend, of course, I was writing a speech.
I did it myself.
It's going to take so much energy.
But anyway, you can be sure, if you would just be sure that all of our viewers and my friends know that this was just a damn coup.
We're looking.
We're looking around.
I'm trying to find the culprit.
Okay, thank you.
Sit with me, please.
Sit with me.