Conversation 476-026

TapeTape 476StartFriday, April 9, 1971 at 3:16 PMEndFriday, April 9, 1971 at 3:33 PMTape start time05:43:29Tape end time05:59:57ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  Bull, Stephen B.;  Murphy, Thomas F.;  Ziegler, Ronald L.Recording deviceOval Office

On April 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Thomas F. Murphy, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:16 pm to 3:33 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 476-026 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 476-26

Date: April 9, 1971
Time: 3:16 pm - 3:33 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
[Recording begins while the conversation is in progress]

     President’s schedule
          -Open Door Hour
                -Boys Club
                -Frequency
                -Value
                -Cancer Crusade
                      -Marguerite Piazza
           -Easter Sunday
                -Demonstrators
                -Julie Nixon Eisenhower
                -Time
                -Announcement

                      -Wire story
                      -Ronald L. Ziegler
                      -Gettysburg
                      -Demonstrators
                      -President’s plan
                            -Notification to press pool
                            -Camp David
                            -Thurmont church
                            -Minister
                            -Ziegler

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 3:16 pm

     Judge Thomas F. Murphy
          -Call to President

     Instructions to Ziegler
           -Meeting with President

Bull left at an unknown time before 3:20 pm

           -President’s Easter Sunday plans
[The President talked with Murphy between 3:20 pm and 3:21 pm]

[Conversation No. 476-26A]

[See Conversation No. 1-64]

[End of telephone conversation]

     President’s schedule
          -Instructions for Ziegler at forthcoming news conference
                -Easter Sunday plans
                      -Family
                      -Lack of firm plans

Ziegler entered at 3:23 pm

                -Gettysburg church
                -Press coverage
                -Camp David
                -Lack of firm plans

-Possible churches
-Press coverage
-Thurmont church
-President’s visit to Saint John’s Episcopal Church
      -Press coverage
            -Cameras
            -Timing
      -Dwight L. Chapin
      -Secret Service
      -Ministers
-Thurmont church
-Possible locations
      -Lack of firm plans
-Mamie G. D. Eisenhower
-Wire story
      -Details
-Gettysburg church
-M. G. D. Eisenhower
-Call to the minister
      -Chapin
-President’s plans
      -Gettysburg church
      -Thurmont church
-M. G. D. Eisenhower
-Lack of firm plans
-President’s plans
      -Camp David
-Strategy
-United Press International [UPI] story
-M. G. D. Eisenhower’s plans
      -J. N. and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
-Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon
-M. G. D. Eisenhower
-Publicity
-UPI story
-Camp David
-Possible churches
      -Lack of firm plans
-M. G. D. Eisenhower
-Demonstrations
      -Thurmont church
      -Pennsylvania State University

                 -Possible discussion with M. G. D. Eisenhower
                 -Call to J. N. Eisenhower
                       -Location

Ziegler left at an unknown time before 3:33 pm

                 -Thurmont church
                 -Dwight D. Eisenhower
                      -Churches
                 -Ministers

Bull entered at an unknown time after 3:23 pm

           -Open Door Hour
                -Duration

Bull and Haldeman left at 3:33 pm

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.

for our inspection.
I don't know why, but we do not have to do the voice bumps every year, Bob.
Don't you?
I thought you did.
Oh, no.
I've done it twice.
Thank you.
I mean, I've done voice bumps.
I mean, I've done voice bumps.
On the ride, I was the head of it, but, you know, they'll come in here, I have to move to that jackass for a box each time.
Okay.
Well, that's no problem.
I thought you told me you had to do it.
What's the matter?
It's all right.
It's all right.
You see, this is a typical, what I call, mental health.
Well, this is the last one, isn't it?
The out of the door, out of the house, don't do it anymore.
Well, then, don't you agree that one day, one day, one day, there has to be something worthwhile in the whole church?
I just don't think there's enough evidence for the other call for us to do it.
Or is there?
I mean, not that it's that much, or both of them, certainly, but not any of the stuff that we really were doing.
Some of us didn't go past probably what we were doing, which was to do with our lives.
We were carrying the cancer, per se.
And that is worthwhile because of our war on cancer.
And it's smart where you'd be after a crash, but on a transit.
That's the only one that's really worthwhile.
It makes you a terrible, horrible life, I'm just saying.
I'm just trying to pick on the each percent of the listeners here, all right?
The each percent is kind of a strong group, and it's just a gear hit to shut up, and they have a bunch of demonstrators out there.
How are you doing?
Julie's going to want you to go.
She's going to be very violent.
It's been announced that they will make a point of getting out here.
We haven't announced it.
I don't care who did it.
It's been announced.
The word is out.
Oh, it's been in the paper drawn, sir.
Yeah, it was on the line.
So, it's been announced.
So, I don't care.
I don't blame anybody.
I'm just saying it's a fact.
Having announced it, and having the word out, we do want to demonstrate a will.
I'm sure they can gin up some people out here this fast though, gin up some people in Gettysburg in three days.
Yeah, that's it.
They'll go up in here without any question.
I think, I think we just oughta, we oughta just leave it there.
Saturday night, tell the press school, don't wait until Sunday morning, but wait until Saturday night.
There's a press school covering in Thurmond.
Just tell them you changed your mind.
But they can't do.
Just notify them you changed your mind.
You'd be going to the Thurmond church instead.
Better wait until Sunday morning.
Just go to the Thurmond church.
I think just go.
Just go to the damn church.
You almost have to tell the minister that.
What are you going to tell him?
Tell him early in the morning.
Say that it has to be done.
Now, this is for our Gainesburg minister and the Fairmont minister, but just don't look up the person in the morning.
Yeah.
We ought to tell Ziegler to report to the president.
Judge Moody has reached out to help Ziegler come in.
I say to find out what Ziegler can say to the president about me this morning.
Mr. Keogh, I don't know.
Judge Murphy?
Hello?
Hello, Judge Murphy?
How are you?
Fine.
I was just signing some appointments here the other day, and I noticed that I was signing the Senate for the nomination of Murray Irvine and for Carlos Murphy.
And I told myself, you know,
But I said, well, I said, is that Tom Murphy of many years ago?
And I thought that it was.
So I just wanted you to know that we, that the country owes you a very great debt for your service to the country.
And for your service, I don't know, Mr. Chairman, that's a critical day.
You had to take on that tough case.
So we have always been
It felt about me like putting your chambers in.
So, that was a tough one.
Well, it was something we both had to deal with.
I hope you're in good health, are you?
I'll tell you, I'll send you one of the presidential golf balls.
If you've got one, that's what you'll get when you're retired.
And now, and then you can get a, but that way you can get a whole lot.
It has the presidential seal on it.
And in the meantime, I just want to thank you for the country and wish you the very best.
Thank you.
I don't think so.
Just, I think you're right.
I think Zechariah's got to say, said the president, maybe he doesn't, the president's plans are not set, but if the family is joining them and they have not made their plans for Easter Sunday, they won't.
Very good.
Ron, you've got to get the press off of this kid from Gettysburg.
It's not likely that I'm going to church now.
You didn't confirm?
No, sir.
I haven't at all.
I have said it.
I have been telling them now that we should get off that kid.
All right.
That the president is going to Camp David.
Right.
And that they have no way to plan a job for the area.
Yes, sir.
the president, the church, the president's mother used to go to here to find his parents.
I mean, I've been thinking that there are several churches in the area that haven't made it.
Well, I just say, well, we won't know something.
We'll give you plenty of time.
As far as people covering it, they don't have enough people up there anyway.
That's right.
Just a small pool, but this thing worked out, would have worked out great, but I don't know.
When you arrived there, apparently, some people were there.
But the ministers, we timed this.
You know, a couple of press walked by and said, you know, wait a minute, the cameras...
showed up there at one minute, or about three minutes before you walked out, so they didn't attract those guys and turn us to... What they did is... White said... Somebody, one of our people, did the stupid thing of going over there and advancing, and the moment you do...
You see, you've got to make absolutely, did anybody go over there, Bob?
Not to my knowledge, and I'll find out.
Nobody, they were under strict orders not to go over there.
See, one Secret Service guy went down to the place.
That immediately tips them off.
and they're certainly going to have no interest in giving it up.
No.
Well, he would have no interest, but he knew you were coming.
He knew you were coming, so if the other ministers on the stage knew you were coming, one of them might have mentioned it to one of the young ministers, and the young minister then organized his report back.
Because that's what it was.
They were crude.
And rose, yeah.
But the best thing about it, yeah, was...
What they held is that he's living.
Well, no one got that.
Coming out, Christ died for all.
So what does that mean to anyone?
I told the press that this was an erroneous story with regard to the movement of the Jets.
Should we do that?
Yes, sir.
That's an erroneous story.
That's quite a way to solve it.
Yes, sir.
that we haven't we haven't made you'll probably go in somewhere there are several places yeah the war story is a complete rundown on the president's weekend activities i don't know where it came from but as the president all the first families line up they're driving over the eisenhower
Place in Gettysburg to visit with Mrs. Eisenhower and then going to the Gettysburg church.
Well, that's just not true.
I do feel that I've got to get this under control.
I need the best I can do.
for you to get them off of the Gettysburg Church.
All right, I will.
If in some way, Bob, somebody's got to call the minister up there and say the president's plans are... We don't want you to plan on it because he...
If I could offer a suggestion, unless you do want to go to the Gettysburg Church, we leave that alone and let the impression be that he is going to the Gettysburg Church.
and then go to a church rapture.
Well, that was more difficult with that than Mrs. Eisenhower at church and ministry probably for our game.
heard, everybody planned it, you know, and they all show up.
I think, in effect, that's what you're doing, Doug, what you're saying.
All you're doing, I think you should simply say this in front of your son.
I think we better, we better leave that.
We say, you know, we're fine with not accepting it this morning.
That's all I can say.
If you want to get off of that, you know, get it to your church because they haven't made it.
Fine, I'll do that because I haven't even confirmed you're going to Camp David.
I said I'd let you know at 4 o'clock.
Let's confirm Camp David.
Let's say the church plans for the family is joining in there.
We'll let you know Sunday morning.
Fair enough.
I just...
Well, I'm just wondering, if I say that after a few of these people over here, I'm possibly finding the briefing that they may write that the President changed his reported plans, because I don't know where that other UPI story came from.
You may have to come back and say it in the background.
Yeah, I'll go back down to your background.
We'll let you know.
I'll handle it that way.
Would that make sense?
Yeah, tell them.
Tell them where they may have gotten the impression that Mrs. Eisner's going to have lunch actually with them at Camp Peter.
Okay.
That's one thing to do to correct that.
Apparently there's been a little mix-up in the story.
They are not going to the farm.
That is true.
We're not going to...
Listen, that's the way I handle it.
Listen, this guy is coming up to Camp Dale.
Could be.
We'll let Julie and David go down to Gettysburg, go to the church with Mrs. Eisenhower and bring her back up for lunch afterwards.
You and Pat go on down to Thurmond to try out what we've got to be able to do for the picture.
And it would be great to have Mrs. Eisenhower.
Yeah, we ought to have them all.
Mrs. Eisenhower would come up better.
They had to leave.
I don't know.
I suppose so.
It was a UPI story.
It was a UPI story.
You probably called Julie or somebody and you said, you got this confused.
He's going to Camp David, but she is coming up there for lunch.
And as far as security is concerned, they haven't made that yet.
They will write that.
We haven't gotten that for you yet, but I'll tell you as soon as we have that they're gonna go plan a job.
I'd say, well, they say, well, it's the infirmary.
I don't know.
Well, I told you, don't call me.
I'll call you.
That's what I said.
They have the presidency room, church, yard, and all sorts.
There's a lot of them around there.
I just confused the hell out of myself.
Okay.
I'll just go.
Now, you see, I just feel, Bob, you got it.
If you can, you've got to avoid it.
On the other hand, once you get in a church, where is it going to be out here in it?
Uh, Thurmond is a godforsaken place.
Yeah, they can't do anything.
And there's no college there.
That's my point.
It's gonna take them a little time.
It's gonna be an hour, right?
So they're gonna come riding down from Penn State in an hour.
My god, they can ride down from Penn State to Gettysburg and 18 other colleges over to that damn church.
That's my point.
Yeah.
Through family is easy, which is a demonstration of that, and Mrs. Eisenhower, which is a, you know, our intelligence reports that we've got, it was leaked, it was leaked, and that they're planning a demonstration which would ruin everybody's Easter dinner, so we don't do that.
So we're just going to make sure it will change.
You make a point, Mrs. Eisenhower, that you'd like to go to that church some other time.
Yeah, but always on a basis of religion.
But not now.
Sometime here at Camp David, you'll just run down at the last minute and go to a church with her.
That's the safest thing to do, and just...
I tell you, before you go, you're going to be going, you call Julie.
She's going to ask her about this and this.
She's probably on her way out.
I'll see if I can get her.
If I can, I'll get her over to the clinic.
Well, I have an addiction on her way.
I'll check.
We follow our line by this office on our hill and say, now, Julie, here's the coop, here's the cold cop.
We've just got to get him to sign our offense.
You've got to move the thermal.
Right.
And we've got a little church there, and we'll find one.
I don't even have one church.
No, we've got one.
It's a good one.
I'll sit one where Eisenhower lives.
All right.
And we're going to go to the Eisenhower church in Fairmont.
That's what we want to do.
And we just made a hot post for a cold church.
Fortunately, Eisenhower went to practically every church that was.
Anywhere you go, Eisenhower went.
That's true.
That is the God's truth.
You know?
Sure.
That's true of the large baptism.
Pre-minister types.
We have a lot of them.
We're carrying them out.
They're now ministers.
Hmm?
Some of them are now ministers.
Very well.
This sergeant is... Yeah, these will have to be heard.
About two minutes each.
I don't want to crack them.