Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 426 › Conversation 426-050

Nixon & Ehrlichman on Economic Policy and Military Base Closures

Tuesday, April 10, 1973 · 5:59 PM–6:09 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ehrlichman, John D.Conversation426-050 on Tape 426StartTuesday, April 10, 1973 at 5:59 PMEndTuesday, April 10, 1973 at 6:09 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 426-050 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Ehrlichman met to discuss upcoming economic preparations and strategies for base closures. The President requested materials for study at Camp David and proposed a follow-up meeting for Saturday morning to review economic options. Additionally, they debated the political implications of closing specific military bases, with Nixon explicitly directing that Portsmouth be closed while advising caution regarding Tinker and Belmont to avoid complicating the political standing of David M. Kennedy (referred to as Belmont).

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 39% 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.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
OK. John, I wanted to check on the economic thing.
Anything to do tomorrow?
Just one.
I don't need that.
OK.
Well, what's your recommendation?
Should I read the options?
Because I'll do, you know, we're going to Camp David tomorrow about 4 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 3.30, just to do some research and so forth.
And the issue, that's something.
But understand, I've never found it too useful to read.
Well, no, I don't mind.
I don't mind getting saturated in it.
Yeah.
Throw it.
Well, throw it in.
Throw the rest.
When do you anticipate they'll be ready to... Good.
Now, let me say that if they want to have a meeting, one of the best times for me would be Saturday morning.
That's about when they'd be ready with me.
I talked to .
I .
What is happening here too, John?
Yes, and the Democrats become more and more partisan.
For example, one of the few good fallout for this is that it is so goddamn partisan that it makes the Republicans mad.
You know, that our guys are not, you know, they're partisan too.
Partisanship, free partisanship, I'm sure.
But financial... Is that...
I also want to ask a question.
How much work has been or is being done with regard to building and helping people that are too close?
And I get a lot of dislikes from my face now, but it reminds me that there is only a couple of people that are 40, and they know they're going to come up with a question, so they want to come up with a question.
And I've always decided that we have to do 40, and we have to ask for it.
The other way, I can tell you right now, I marked the day out, but they're not going to tell you about it.
Portsmouth must be kept as low as that profile you can, but I made a promise to keep it.
I cannot break the promise.
Most Philadelphia
I also raised the point that one other one was one in Oklahoma, Tinker.
The point there, and I put it straight to you, was with Belmont.
We want Belmont to run.
If Belmont is going to run,
Uh, let's, uh, if this is something that is very important, it's worth it.
If you just check the belt, unless, I'm not able to, if you see what I mean, if it's good bargaining material for the belt, or if you see the other thing, it could be that the belt is of such a
closing in Belmont and say, well, hell, if you close this base, I'm going to run.
I don't want to do it.
It isn't a lot of money.
So let me say that everything closes except half Portsmouth and possibly Tinker on Belmont.
But on Tinker and Belmont, don't close it, too, unless the road is not having some effect at all.
Okay.

NARA Description

On April 10, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:59 pm to 6:09 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 426-050 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 426-50

Date: April 10, 1973
Time: 5:59 pm - 6:09 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with John D. Ehrlichman.

[See Conversation No. 44-139]

Also recorded on April 10, 1973

  • 044-139 5:59 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 5:59 pm to 6:09 pm.
  • 426-049 5:59 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:59 pm.
  • 426-051 6:09 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:14 pm.
  • 044-140 6:14 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 426-052 6:14 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:14 pm.
  • 426-053 6:14 PM · 10 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 6:14 pm and 6:17 pm.
  • 044-141 6:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 6:17 pm to 6:18 pm.
  • 426-054 6:17 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:17 pm to 6:18 pm.

All 81 conversations from April 10, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 426-050, April 10, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/426-050 (accessed October 5, 2026).