Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 467 › Conversation 467-040

Nixon & Safire on Stock market and Media relations

Wednesday, March 17, 1971 · 3:51 PM–3:58 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Safire, William L.Conversation467-040 on Tape 467 (tape position 02:19:15–02:24:44)StartWednesday, March 17, 1971 at 3:51 PMEndWednesday, March 17, 1971 at 3:58 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 467-040 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417176171 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and speechwriter William Safire discussed utilizing recent stock market growth, specifically the 40% increase in the Dow-Jones index, to highlight the administration's economic success in public communications. The President also addressed his media strategy, instructing Safire to defend his record of accessibility by citing specific past interviews rather than appearing defensive. Nixon emphasized that the administration must proactively correct inaccurate premises regarding his media engagements and campaign rhetoric to better manage his public image.

Audio

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NARA Description

On March 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:51 pm to 3:58 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 467-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 467-040

Date: March 17, 1971
Time: 3:51 pm - 3:58 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with William L. Safire

     Stock market
          -Possible article [?]
          -Effect of President’s April 28 statement
          -Current Dow-Jones averages

     Press
             -President’s previous interview with Peregrine Worsthorne
                  -Background
             -President’s previous interview with Cyrus L. (“Cy”) Sulzberger
                  -Background
             -President’s previous interview with Barbara Walters
                  -Background
                        -Edward VIII’s [Duke of Windsor] visit
             -President’s image
                  -Accessibility
             -President’s previous interviews
                  -Richard L. Wilson
                  -Bernard Kalb
                  -Stewart J. O. Alsop
             -President’s interviews
                  -List
                        -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                  -Worsthorne
                        -Cambodia
                        -Sulzberger
             -An unknown person’s premise
                  -White House response
             -President’s interviews [?]
                  -List [?]
                        -Haldeman

     President’s campaign speeches

Transcript (AI-generated)

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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It occurred to me that you might get another very good ride out of that business about buying stocks.
Went by one of them a year.
I think, was the day of the dinner.
But I think the time that I made the statement was an impressive thing.
Earlier than that, I anticipated it was the 28th, and you've got a little time of the week.
But when it does come here, just put it down here.
Whatever the date was, that would be a time to give it a good ride.
You see, the Dow moved from its low point of 630.
It's moved up 40% in eight months, which, of course, is a
Because it's never ended in such a short period of time.
And there should be a hell of a hundred in there throughout, if they have any sense.
But 40% movement now means, of course, that the smart guys, a lot of them are 60, or they are, or they should be up there.
If they just walked it out, it's a pretty good return this time.
Okay.
So I think it's a good point.
Point to me.
They're just not going around trying to do it.
They're just not going around trying to do it.
Goodbye.
Where's Tarni?
Where's Tarni?
I agreed to it a year ago when he wrote that.
I did the Salzburg run.
Did you know that I agreed to it in December when he said he was going to be over here?
That's all.
Don't be on the defensive.
Fire Walters, six months ago.
They had nothing to do with wind service here.
I said I would do that to her one time.
So she just called me.
That's all.
Don't ever take anything on the defensive.
I wouldn't say that this number of others were trying to change the image and all that sort of stuff.
That's very, very bad.
But I would say we're more accessible in order to change image, and that's just exactly what they're not right about.
You know, check the facts so I can see that, first of all, it's not that I've given interviews, but if you go back to the last year in the state, we had Dave Wilson and, you know, Stuart Alsop and so forth.
They just paid a little more attention.
That's part of it.
If you've got the list, I mean, I told all of them to get the list of people.
You see, our own people, many times, just don't know the facts.
Because I, I think there isn't anything as far as to, as far as Worshtorn, Muslim and Nile, that they, these two were agreed to, as I said, Worshtorn was a year ago, at the time, almost a year ago, at the time of Cambodia, you go and say it was by Oliver, I remember, something like that.
And of course the other, Sulzer, it was in December, and that's when we agreed to it.
It seems to me it's important to say that it's to first knock down the basic premise, though.
If the basic premise is inaccurate to a great extent, you've got to say so.
In other words, if they have lied about the basic premise, then I would call them a lie again and say, well, look, maybe you just haven't been following what you've been doing.
Right?
I think that should be done.
For example, I saw this photo of somebody, I saw him just fucking doing this.
He's still, because somebody else got him.
You know, that would be important.
that they ever heard my campaign speeches.
I heard about that all the time.
You mean the references you used to do?
Oh, it's so full of it.
I don't mind that.
I think they don't get a wash as long as you go back and take a look at it.
Well, let me see what the .

Also recorded on March 17, 1971

  • 467-031 3:36 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 3:36 pm.
  • 467-032 3:36 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:36 pm and 3:43 pm.
  • 467-035 3:43 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Edna (Thompson) Ellington met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:43 pm to 3:44 pm.
  • 467-036 3:44 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 467-037 3:44 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 467-038 3:44 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:44 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 467-039 3:48 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and LaMar Baker met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:48 pm to 3:49 pm.
  • 467-041 3:58 PM · 1 hr 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), Ronald L. Ziegler, Rose Mary Woods, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, Dwight L. Chapin, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 5:52 pm.

All 31 conversations from March 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 467-040, March 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417176171). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/467-040 (accessed November 6, 2026).