Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 540-011
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 1971 at 1:26 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/540-011

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Well, I suppose it makes sense to do so.
[0:15] Mr. President, the rest of you can have a good night.
[0:16] Good night.
[0:16] Good night.
[0:16] Good night.
[0:17] Good night.
[0:17] Good night.
[0:42] I was just saying, I think it's the pattern.
[1:10] He does these with the press, you know, when he's riding in the plane.
[1:20] He did the midnight press conference.
[1:25] He did this in the press.
[1:26] The Fat Jack name was done that way.
[1:29] He tends to relax with people and trust them, you know what I mean?
[1:32] And then he burps something out, or when he's on public stage, he isn't that way.
[1:36] He's damn defective.
[1:37] He's a cautious character.
[1:38] It's the fraternizing.
[1:38] He fraternizes with the Secret Service.
[1:39] He fraternizes with the...
[1:42] It's a funny thing because he's got this almost pompous sense of rank and all that, and yet it's so different.
[1:54] You have no feeling of rank in the ceremonial sense or anything like that, but you have a total recognition of rank underneath.
[2:05] You never fraternize with people below your level.
[2:09] You never let down with people below your level.
[2:11] I never separate them.
[2:13] But superficially, you're always friendly.
[2:16] And with people below your level, more friendly.
[2:19] I mean, you're much more, and Jimmy will make much more of an effort to be nice and all that to a secretary than you do to your principal associates.
[2:31] But you never, there's a line there that you never cross.
[2:34] He is just the other one.
[2:36] He's very much conscious of rank and all that.
[2:40] Very
[2:41] and you have to follow them.
[2:56] And it just breaks the barrier completely on a personal basis.
[3:00] It's very strange.
[3:00] I'm impressed on this trip.
[3:01] They were pretty bad with me on the project.
[3:04] Yeah, I heard a news thing on the radio, a feature report from one of the guys who was with them.
[3:17] I know you're good friends.
[3:24] That's what he's doing.
[3:25] I don't think they get as equal as a country strong people.
[3:26] I won't say.
[3:26] Straight on.