Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 462-007
Date: Friday, March 5, 1971 at 10:15 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.; Woods, Rose Mary; White House operator; Stennis, John C.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/462-007

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] It's time.
[0:01] I want to bring the man down.
[0:04] Are you good?
[0:04] Yeah, I think you're good.
[1:16] All right.
[1:43] All good, man.
[1:48] All good.
[1:48] All right.
[3:28] I could do that for us last night.
[3:43] Right over their heads.
[3:56] He said he did a very great job.
[4:00] He's also very successful.
[4:01] He went over the heads of the press and TV and got right to people.
[4:04] He loved the way he handled the Rodgers question.
[4:08] He thought the cheap shot phrase was exactly right.
[4:12] Again, he repeated it.
[4:15] He did a marvelous job of zinging the press and TV commentators.
[4:17] They did it with a smile.
[4:19] It was tremendous.
[4:20] It was particularly effective in some instances because you were able to say to your questioner, as you know.
[4:30] But he thought your whole manner was right.
[4:34] And I told you last night, I watched it with Loya and Bill Stover, and they all thought it was great.
[4:43] Loya did it?
[4:45] All right.
[4:46] And I think I did.
[4:46] I don't know if I talked with Larry when I talked with you.
[4:49] No, no, no.
[4:51] Larry called before.
[4:52] He was over at the block.
[4:52] Oh, yeah, he had left.
[4:53] And he said he thought things went very, very well.
[4:55] And he said, I was over here at Red Line, and we all thought it was great.
[4:57] Tell the president I thought it was a damn good job.
[5:00] And I had told you about talking to Rocky, and Rocky called me.
[5:11] Yeah, Rocky called me, you know.
[5:21] And then, yeah.
[5:21] I talked to Rocky.
[5:22] Yeah.
[5:22] And then, I really think he's the guy you ought to have a call.
[5:23] What did he say?
[5:23] He said, Senator Dennis.
[5:24] No, I didn't mean it.
[5:25] I didn't mean it.
[5:39] It's just that he loves her.
[5:44] He would die and keep us getting on vacation.
[5:47] Other than on vacation or meeting us sometimes.
[5:51] And he isn't the kind of guy you'd ever call unless he's really convinced.
[6:07] I'm dead.
[6:18] I saw him.
[6:19] When you get ready, you might put a little note in him that goes past mine.
[6:25] I was so hungry.
[6:25] You can imagine.
[6:26] I'm very hungry.
[6:26] I'm just...
[6:26] I'm already...
[6:30] I...
[6:40] I had actually prepared to travel four o'clock in order to be able to answer the 16, 16 or so, the 16 or so that were actually .
[7:10] But as I'm happy to get a call back, I was told to be knocking for a player.
[7:32] I was told I'm working outside of town.
[7:33] It's appreciated.
[7:34] And the fact of the matter, when you go out on the court, this would be interesting, and play out on the court as well.
[7:37] And I wonder if you would,
[9:20] So, just wanted you to know that Rose told me you called last night, and I'm most grateful.
[9:28] Well, well, you know, these things, you know, I often say around here, you know, I'm wearing this big stamp.
[9:45] I say, you know, some of our Republicans, you know, and we just have a few more like John Stanton sitting around here.
[9:48] We'd do better.
[9:49] I'll tell you, we appreciate it.
[9:52] We've got to stand up to them.
[9:53] We must not fail now.
[9:56] We're not going to fail.
[9:57] And you know the fact I see some Harris or Gallup poll or so forth, they show that the majority of the country wants us to get out right now, that Laos is a failure and so forth.
[10:08] Well, that is what we're elected to do, to follow the polls.
[10:12] If so, they've been elected then.
[10:14] Don't you agree?
[10:21] Yeah.
[10:24] Where are you?
[10:26] Hey.
[10:27] It isn't going to collapse.
[10:34] We just had more in here today, more there.
[10:38] And all reports now, we've been in three weeks, you know, and it's already a success in that respect.
[10:45] For three weeks, they've torn up these supplies.
[10:46] They'll stay in another three weeks at least.
[10:47] And if they stay in that long, that means that, by golly, we bought that much more time.
[10:51] And so we just stick to our guns.
[10:56] Yeah.
[11:00] Well, yes, that's awfully nice, and I agree.
[11:08] I agree.
[11:09] Thank you.
[11:11] Thank you.
[11:12] Thank you.
[11:13] He said, take it down.
[11:13] Everybody, leave it up, you know.
[11:16] Somebody's got to leave it up.
[11:17] He said, you just eat wine.
[11:24] He said, we're fine.
[11:24] He said, beer.
[11:25] I guess you might be able to encourage it a little bit.
[11:27] Oh, yes, yes, because it was, it really was explained.
[11:44] Beautifully.
[11:47] And it refuted all the...
[11:53] I haven't given it a smack, I think, but everyone said that, you know, the less of it, the anyway.
[12:00] I think it's great.
[12:00] It may just only refute it for our own friends, but even them, it's good for them.
[12:02] But there are a lot of people out there who are...
[12:04] Not even for just our own trend.
[12:06] I think there are a lot of people who genuinely are puzzled by the whole thing.
[12:12] They don't understand.
[12:13] No.
[12:13] They don't understand why.
[12:14] Why going into another country saying it's your own country?
[12:17] Well, you just like it coming down those trails.
[12:19] I heard the all-new station this morning, I was in there.
[12:23] saying, using that, how you, you explained that they're getting to these channels.
[12:38] Now that's, you know, I'm a big fan of that.
[12:41] Yes.
[12:41] See, those are things that the average Turkish can understand.
[12:43] See, that's what they, that's what they really need to hear is something like that.
[12:48] I don't know.
[12:48] It was, it was very, I thought, excellent stuff.
[13:13] We've got people like us that write things.
[13:40] And I don't know if they all remember
[13:50] There you go.
[14:01] You have a copy of Jane Henry by hand.
[14:11] This is the copy that he does not want.
[14:12] It just brings on for my private personal personal file.
[14:14] I don't want it to go to anybody else.
[14:15] We're not together.
[14:30] You know, I sent that personal confidential to the ambassador with my name on the outside, y'all.
[14:48] Yeah, and that's good.
[14:48] So I sent him on the rise.
[14:49] I said, this is it.
[14:49] He had responded to a personal letter.
[14:58] I mentioned it to him.
[14:58] He had no...
[14:58] He had no interest in any of our substances.
[15:01] I think he was not an MP.
[15:18] He was sent.
[15:19] He was delivered by the ambassador.
[15:19] I want him to have it for his personal file.
[15:20] I'll tell you what to do with it.
[15:21] View it in person and view it with Scotty Clay in here.
[15:22] That's how I want it.
[15:22] Okay.
[15:23] I'll distribute it to you in your office.
[15:25] The President wants you to be aware of the fact that he has written to the Prime Minister in person.
[15:40] The Prime Minister is in person and giving him a long report on his character.
[15:41] The Congress is in solidation.
[15:53] Oh, he asked me if, uh... Picture.
[15:58] Yes, since you're thinking about a picture, whether, because you have to come back Sunday for church annual, whether this Sunday would be a time to go back to...
[16:13] He wants to do it.
[16:13] He'd like to have 15 months.
[16:18] If he knows how to do it.
[16:18] For me, for me alone?
[16:19] All right.
[16:19] All right.
[16:19] Do you want to do it this Sunday, then?
[16:20] Sure.
[16:20] After lunch.
[16:25] I do, I do.
[17:01] That was a great family picture.
[17:06] Yeah.
[17:06] It was a great picture, but we need another one because now time is a-wastin' and it's a-passin' all of a sudden.
[17:14] So he grows up, or she grows up.
[17:18] Actually, yeah.
[17:19] And see her grow up.
[17:19] Yeah.
[17:20] That's nice.
[17:20] Yeah.
[17:20] They both look so pretty in that television.
[17:22] Do they?
[17:23] You and Pat, it really was very good.
[17:29] You came off particularly well because you were so gracious and pleasant, mild, warm, very good.
[17:43] I think it was a show to the country, a good thing, you know, the dinner and everything.
[18:29] Yeah.
[18:31] You see if, uh... See if...