Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade

1:35:37But even if you didn't have all the great decisions and all that, you'd be tired, just straight out tired from the work.
1:35:48When you have the pressure and the...
1:35:49But he cried that night.
1:35:56He was so proud.
1:35:57You know, the first thing, Pat said she, you know, she said, you know, I guess that's our friend.
1:36:04I mean, seriously.
1:36:06They cried because it was, well, risking the election and all that.
1:36:10Well, no, Pappas cried because he was so proud of you.
1:36:13And you, it was so, his words were courageous and eloquent.
1:36:18And he said, I just, I just, I was so proud of him, I just cried.
1:36:22And he said that he's called, he's been calling us on his friends in France and England and all around.
1:36:29He said they were, they said you were great.
1:36:34Good old time.
1:36:36Thank you very much.
1:36:38Strong leader, forthright.
1:36:41He's going over to Greece and somewhere.
1:36:47I recall that he and Mac Fisher and then Garnet heard your speech.
1:36:52Were they in California?
1:36:54No, they're in, yeah, Garnet's in California now.
1:36:56I invited Garnet tonight.
1:36:58Yeah, I noticed that.
1:37:00and thought you came over cool and concerned.
1:37:02You presented your position very well.
1:37:05You showed a remarkable job of restraint and control.
1:37:08All three are very proud of your presentation and, of course, back in the army.
1:37:15Why did you cancel the speech?
1:37:17It was great.
1:37:17You were calm and cool.
1:37:19You inspired the whole Western world.
1:37:22You caused a pretty major network.
1:37:25They are.
1:37:26And you tried to get those nauseating jackals off the air.
1:37:33You know, the business of being cool and so forth is something that we don't get the credit for because the press tries to create this damn impression that I'm in a position to brag and I'm hot and I'm cool.
1:37:50Well, sure, I don't have to remember it.
1:37:52On the other hand, when everybody knows me, I'm the coldest man in the world.
1:37:55Well, no one could really watch that.
1:37:57I don't care what any of them translated.
1:37:59People thought it would be... You watched it, of course.
1:38:01Oh, yes.
1:38:01I watched it and I had it on again this morning.
1:38:06Oh, they run it again, aren't they?
1:38:07Yeah, they had it on again.
1:38:09Well, I turned it off, and I had it on until what?
1:38:12I'm sure I know that Don Hughes was flying last night, because he was somewhere flying back, so I know they were playing dance at the end.
1:38:19He came in to do that.
1:38:22My brother called and said that by the time he got to work, all the radio stations were having these phone-in plans.
1:38:31And it was like...
1:38:33The pole is set on the right, 150 to 34.
1:38:37Four.
1:38:38Four years' position.
1:38:53The Russians.
1:39:04I think the people want for us to go to Russia, but I don't want us to go there in disgrace.
1:39:11And you gave Russia last time.
1:39:13You gave them a chance.
1:39:14You handed them on a platter, a chance, to live up to what they say.
1:39:19We know they're not peacemakers.
1:39:22They failed, and you gave them the perfect opportunity.
1:39:26They had the chance to be the big peacemakers of all.
1:39:29Have you come on and come to the summit?
1:39:31You've worded it all so beautifully.
1:39:34They had to, you know, if they don't do it, it's made clear.
1:39:39Now the Red Chinese are not saying we bombed them over the weekend, bombed two of their ships over the weekend.
1:39:56We did, and they wouldn't wait till today to know it.
1:40:14What about the, I mean, there was just a report that the Chinese said they bombed two of their ships over the weekend.
1:40:24Did they bomb?
1:40:27What about it?
1:40:31Thank you.
1:41:00I don't know.
1:41:25That would be a big help having more people rather than having to do it all yourself.
1:41:30I don't know, because you would get the likes of that line in the draft that went out from that.
1:41:42You see, it's the old story, you can't go home, you can't follow those guys.
1:41:54Right.
1:41:5530 what? 35
1:42:20She is so dear.
1:42:25At that point that she mentioned, she talked about last night, and I said, well, that was, she went and I was coming back, and she said, who had thought that last night?
1:42:37And I said, well, it was, and I said, I was talking to North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese and Russian and African people, and they all
1:42:50But the Russian part I wrote entirely myself.
1:42:57That was the most important part.
1:43:05Have any of those dots back there?
1:43:06They've got a chance here.
1:43:07I think they will.
1:43:08They do.
1:43:09They do.
1:43:10That's one of the risks we've taken.
1:43:13The damn Russians.
1:43:15They were responsible for the war in India.
1:43:21have tested us in Cuba by sending other ships out there.
1:43:26And they're building up their forces.
1:43:30And now they're trying to embarrass us here.
1:43:34I'll be goddamned.
1:43:34We're just not going to do it.
1:43:35The American people, by 70%, want us to go to Russia.
1:43:39Too bad.
1:43:40Right now, the main thing now is to defeat the North Vietnamese.
1:43:42And we're not doing it.
1:43:45Across the line,
1:43:51Well, it has to be done.
1:43:52This is just ridiculous to have it go on and on and on.
1:43:58The Russians are playing.
1:43:59They have all this in mind.
1:44:01On one side, they say they want peace.
1:44:06They don't want peace at all.
1:44:08They're just playing for time until it blows up.
1:44:11In my experience.
1:44:18It's on a margin, but if you get something out of it, let me see.
1:44:26In regards to public support, I would like to run a poll.
1:44:44Yeah, I have to.
1:45:10And the other thing I have to hand them in your way is there is some, they didn't give up that plant, you know, that landed over there.
1:45:16I don't know if you knew this, but they said the guerrillas, Arab guerrillas, I think it was, but anyway, guerrillas, took that thousand plants, 101 people, and they were holding it for, they wanted a hundred, I think a hundred of their people to leave.
1:45:37They negotiated with them that they wouldn't go all the way, and they would take them and take them and keep them on the rest.
1:45:45The first story was they sent them on the rest as technicians.
1:45:51They killed two of the guerrillas and injured one of the women, one girl, as it captured one, the back home.
1:45:59And at that point, none of the passengers would make it to the show.
1:46:03They had that whole 101-passenger car, and they went on.
1:46:06They didn't give up that point.
1:46:07Oh, that's a way to end it.
1:46:08Because those people were threatening to blow it up.
1:46:10I tell you, there's... You've got to have, we've got to have people like you around the world who stand up and keep count of this.
1:46:25It's not really worth being in a country that can't be strong.
1:46:31We couldn't have had, we couldn't have paid people who would have made the average American feel like us
1:47:02than the people they interviewed who were against your stand.
1:47:07They interviewed some for and some against on NBC.
1:47:10At George Washington, where they all gathered, some of them gathered to listen.
1:47:18And truthfully, the first one they asked who was against was such an out-and-out queer in every way he spoke, and his emotions, his face,
1:47:29The guys who were for us were bright.
1:47:33Two girls, one girl just said, well, there's only one thing to say, she's bright.
1:47:40And she said, you know, very nice looking girl.
1:47:46And yes, the ones who were for us were good.
1:47:50They gave you some more phantom, had a mustache.
1:47:55They didn't have the long hair down here, but intelligent.
1:47:58Their answers were good.
1:47:59I was pleased, because I figured they were going to, when I saw the ring line, they'll have everybody a guess.
1:48:08They didn't.
1:48:09I would say that each was born a guess.
1:48:13He said something, and it may be in his head.
1:48:26Oh, yes.
1:48:27I think we ought to ask somebody to cite the difference between Teddy Kennedy and what you did when Jackson came to Cuba when you were running for office.
1:48:38That should be another sentence.
1:48:39I've mentioned it to you.
1:48:40Have you?
1:48:40I've mentioned it to all of you.
1:48:46I'd like to say that I feel very strongly that one of his brothers had to do it.
1:48:55The people.
1:49:02My brother-in-law, he worked at a company in the field.
1:49:22Absolutely right.
1:49:23You know, and these people, he never said anything.
1:49:26I think he was very quiet for, he doesn't say a thing unless he's the lady of the firm.
1:49:32It's absolutely great that someone should have done it long before he got into office.
1:49:38Before they had so many men.
1:49:39He understood exactly that.
1:49:42He had to get men home.
1:49:46And he resigned to him.
1:49:47He's a real John Q. Puppet.
1:49:49He's not an intelligent guy.
1:49:50He's not a political guy.
1:49:54Okay.
1:49:55Okay.
1:49:59Okay.
1:50:08Okay.
1:50:31When you work up, when you build up to being able to, what I think is the most amazing is how you go through all the problems where you have to go and then are able to do them so calmly.
1:50:49Even as often as I went, I noticed.
1:50:53We guess if not that little credit, I don't know how we can get out of it.
1:51:01But our guys tried, and they don't do that.
1:51:03That was a dam.
1:51:04Jack Kennedy would have been likened to the second coming.
1:51:12Christ, John the Baptist, St. Paul, and Peter.
1:51:19All right, good luck.
1:51:20Thank you.
1:51:24I've got a few who are always sticking to the, you know, Richard Wilson and the kind of real good writers.
1:51:31Oh, yeah.
1:51:31David Wilson, the writer.
1:51:32Oh, did you?
1:51:37I, uh, I think you were giving me a quarter of three.
1:51:41I'll be up probably in the distance.
1:51:44I don't know if you want me to do that or not.
1:53:16You know, he's so pleasant.
1:53:18And we used to have that kind of stuff.
1:53:20We don't have it now.
1:53:22Nobody goes around.
1:53:22A couple of military agents.
1:53:24But just to say good morning or hello.
1:53:26And he is so nice to all of us.
1:53:29Everyone loves him all the time.
1:53:33Especially, I've watched him.
1:53:35If you see someone who looks a little bit down, he's actually going to say, do you have a date with me tonight?
1:53:42You know how he does when I wake up.
1:53:44I can't hear you because I haven't been talking for a long time.
1:53:57It's up.
1:53:58It's up.
1:53:58It's up.
1:55:35Well, I think the Russians will move Thursday.
1:55:41One way or the other.
1:55:43By 8.20, they'll move by, I think.
1:55:47I think it's going to be Thursday at 10.
1:56:01Well, the backers have done this, and now they've had to stand up to their allies and say, God, if they're going to call us, we're going to call them.
1:56:08We're not going to be fooling around anymore.
1:56:14The way it's going to be, all rats are off.
1:59:25Well, let me say, I'm not too concerned about that kind of pressure.
1:59:31It may be the wrong time.
1:59:32It may be the wrong thing to do right now to sit down and host some divisions with barbarians in the Kremlin and agree to variation.
1:59:44I mean, the country wants to at least get hold of teachers, right?
1:59:48Everybody for the damn summit has ever had peace.
1:59:51They don't realize that these people are out and brutal assassins.
1:59:54Yeah.
1:59:55But that's the theory of the day.
1:59:58We're going to do what it's due to be done.
2:00:05You know, really, I don't know anybody else who could, you know, ask me to do it.
2:00:13But can you imagine anybody that, under the present character, can do the same thing?
2:00:20First done the work, first done the speech.
2:00:22And second, not get it until 5.30 and the day I deliver it will be at, what, 5.15, before we have the technical interchange and the technical lab, you know, and we have the services.
2:00:29Any type of change that we can do that.
2:00:34In fact, by the way, it came in at 1.15 minutes before the agreement, and it's just gone.
2:00:41We changed it.
2:00:41But, and then go on and do this, and this is a lot harder than people realize.
2:00:48It is that.
2:00:49Because I think, I think I have a tremendous honor.
2:00:54I, you know, the different people, that Jack Collins call was fantastic.
2:00:58He said he's never made a call on any speech, any political thing.
2:01:03This is Georgia now, isn't it?
2:01:05Yeah, it is.
2:01:05North Carolina, it's one of those longer things.
2:01:08Southern Times or something like that.
2:01:11I'm not sure.
2:01:14And, uh,
2:01:17He just put it over and over and over.
2:01:19He said it was absolutely great.
2:01:21I am absolutely so proud.
2:01:23The people who really think don't want, they don't want this country.
2:01:33Dishonored.
2:01:35Be dishonored.
2:01:36And be through.
2:01:37Be through.
2:01:38Through.
2:01:38Well, look at England.
2:01:39Look at France.
2:01:40They're finished.
2:01:41They're done.
2:01:42So we're going to finish.
2:01:48We're finished.
2:01:49The gunmen take over the whole way.
2:01:53That's what they...
2:02:31not get it until 5.30 and the day I delivered it, it was about 5.15 before we had to technically change it and send it back out, you know, and we had to change it to do that.
2:02:41In fact, by the time we came in, it was 1.15 minutes before the delivery and it was just gone.
2:02:49We changed it.
2:02:49But, and then go on and do this, and this is a lot harder than people realize.
2:02:56It is that, because I think, I have a tremendous honor.
2:02:59I, you know, the different people, that Jack Collins call was fantastic, because he said he's never made a call on any speech, any political thing.
2:03:10He's in Georgia now, isn't he?
2:03:11Yeah, he is.
2:03:13Wait a minute, North Carolina, something, that one of those law defense, Southern Times or something like that.
2:03:25He just put it over and over and over and said it was absolutely great.
2:03:31I am absolutely so proud.
2:03:38The people who really think don't want, they don't want this country to be dishonored and be through.
2:03:46But look at England, look at France.
2:03:47They're finished.
2:03:48They're never finished.
2:03:56We're finished.
2:03:57The comics take over the whole way.
2:04:00That's what they're trying to do, isn't it?
2:04:06Really, we've got an interesting thing.
2:04:08Rocky and Reagan, these two people are so different.
2:04:11A lot of people are all out.
2:04:12All out.
2:04:13Rocky's better than Reagan.
2:04:17Reagan took the whole nation.
2:04:18He was going to call, take off the whole day and call people all over the country.
2:04:25To the president's finest hour and all that kind of thing.
2:04:30Anyway, it's not bad.
2:04:32You know, great to be able to have those, those too.
2:04:35But I must say, I think that Rothkopf, from the day you got the nomination, I don't, he thought beforehand, and I've never been very confident in it, but...
2:04:45After you got the nomination in 1968, I think Rockwell's been the best stubbornest as far as being...
2:04:49Absolutely.
2:04:49Absolutely, for you.
2:04:50He's with us on everything.
2:04:51Where Reagan, you know, does things that are... Well Reagan is an egomaniac.
2:04:54An egomaniac, and he gets on that welfare and the rest of it.
2:04:56He knows what it means to have things.
2:04:57Now then, Rocky is the best friend we've got on the government, let's face it.
2:04:59He's strong, vigorous.
2:05:11How is Ann?
2:05:13I haven't talked to her.
2:05:14I've talked to her about it.
2:05:15Have we ever had girls like that?
2:05:16No, we invited her to an evening one time.
2:05:19Why don't you invite her to the maximum dinner?
2:05:23That stuff is kind of a thing.
2:05:25I don't give a damn.
2:05:26I haven't.
2:05:27And it's only half brown people.
2:05:30Yeah, we'll have to answer that.
2:05:33Half brown people, they can get into the maximum, you know, they like the informal thing.
2:05:37But it would be nice to have Ann.
2:05:42She's a great dad.
2:05:42So working for Rocky?
2:05:45No, except him and his wife.
2:05:48Well, he's married.
2:05:50Oh, they don't have any?
2:05:53No, no.
2:05:54Just Ann.
2:05:57I think we ought to have Ann once.
2:05:59I do, too.
2:05:59We have her for an evening.
2:06:01But the evening is the same thing.
2:06:03And if this is the time, then I can tell her she can stay at my place or something.
2:06:10Because I wasn't going to have her for the weekend.
2:06:14She came one night, left the apartment, because she came down with the governor and there was some dinner or something.
2:06:19So I had her come by and gave her a fast bite to eat.
2:06:21But I see Rocky's coming to dinner, too, isn't he?
2:06:24Well, he's already come.
2:06:25He's already come.
2:06:26He's probably going to stay.
2:06:29He's coming soon.
2:06:32Yeah, you said to invite them and to invite rivals.
2:06:36And I want you to come, too.
2:06:39Oh, well, I don't think you can come.
2:06:40You can share with somebody else.
2:06:41The hell with the chair.
2:06:42You come because Ann's coming, you see.
2:06:46It would be a good thing, wouldn't it?
2:06:47Well, who says that?
2:06:48Our party, this is one.
2:06:49It's the last statement that we're going to have before you.
2:06:58You know, I'm gonna get that, I've got that hooked.
2:06:59You know, I had told everybody, turn their names in early, because, uh, I'm afraid it comes off, the extension has to be, the list has to be approved before we go.
2:07:13And if it doesn't come off, it doesn't look good, so we're gonna use every, you know, so we can get as many in as possible, you know what I'm saying?
2:07:24Over and over and over.
2:07:26Have a nice evening or something like that.
2:07:30Sit in a lot of those.
2:07:31Yeah, we work out in the evening.
2:07:35I mean, you know, of course.
2:07:37In the summer.
2:07:39Absolutely.
2:07:39Okay.
2:07:56and check to see what we could have for each.
2:08:02Should we have a sonata?
2:08:04You better not.
2:08:05I'd like to have one.
2:08:06I could push the boy through.
2:08:07But not with the godfather out and everybody, you know.
2:08:11He won't perform in alignment because he said he can't sing along.
2:08:18He retired.
2:08:18Wearing?
2:08:18Wearing if we can get him.
2:08:21We tried him for the June 15th dinner.
2:08:23But he would be good for an evening.
2:08:26He used to wear.
2:08:30You can have him check out his schedule.
2:08:34And then check it out with your family.
2:08:38Or the other thing is, you can have the movie evening in the lineup.
2:08:48Well, you know how they are, though.
2:08:50They don't... Well, maybe it's a good idea to... Those people like to be beat stars, you know?
2:08:55Yeah, that's pretty hard.
2:08:56Yeah, and all stars are part of that panel.
2:09:00Well, how do you do it from there?
2:09:02Yeah, I don't know how to do that.
2:09:03You don't know how to do it?
2:09:07Okay.
2:09:07So, the quarter is raised long enough?
2:09:09Okay.

Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade

AI Summary

Audio

Transcript (AI-generated)

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on May 9, 1972

Cite this conversation