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Conversation 590-010

TapeTape 590StartWednesday, October 13, 1971 at 12:32 PMEndWednesday, October 13, 1971 at 1:15 PMTape start time03:55:43Tape end time04:05:21ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  White House operatorRecording deviceOval Office
AudioNARA Description

On October 13, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 1:15 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 590-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 590-10

Date: October 13, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:32 pm and 1:15 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

     Dean G. Acheson’s funeral
          -The President’s possible attendance

     United Nations [UN] vote on Taiwan
          -US actions
          -Citizens Committee
                -Henry A. Kissinger's schedule
                -Hobart D. Lewis

     The President's trip to People's Republic of China [PRC]
          -Length of trip
               -Number of cities to visit
          -Secret Service
          -White House Communications Agency [WHCA]
          -Possible overnight trip
               -Effect
          -Peking
               -Forbidden City, Great Wall
          -Number of cities to visit
               -Provincial City
               -Alexander P. Butterfield
                -Kissinger
                     -Haldeman
                     -Dwight L. Chapin

     Funeral of Dean G. Acheson
          -Military aide
     The President's schedule
          -Announcement of Moscow visit, October 12, 1971
          -Donald H. Rumsfeld
               -George P. Shultz

     William P. Rogers
          -Possible letter to ambassadors
                -Contents

     Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon's schedule
          -African trip

     US foreign policy
          -UN
               -Taiwan
                     -US strategy
                     -Congressional funds cut off
                     -Administration objective
               -Kissinger's conversation with PRC

     The President's telephone call to Kenneth Dyer
          -Charles G. (“Bebe”) Rebozo
          -Publicity

The President talked with White House operator at an unknown time between 12:45 pm and 1:09
pm.

[Conversation No. 590-10A]

[See Conversation No. 11-83]

[End of telephone conversation]

Haldeman left at an unknown time before 1:15 pm.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

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.

We're trying.
How many of you have tried the presence of a light to attend?
And any of you?
Would it be possible if the service could be in a letter rather than two?
It is, we're trying to find one.
We might have to get it there instead of that.
Well, I'll be worried if she doesn't.
I mean, I haven't heard from her.
She was supposed to come to Denmark and learn all the science of some of these new countries.
Did you own that Citizens' Committee or not?
I didn't own any of that Citizens' Committee.
I had a couple of them.
Well, I had Nicole Lewis.
which they are, they just expect you to be.
They really don't, but I think maybe with this one it's not a bad thing to do anyway.
Cutting out the stop in a third city also reduces, by a very substantial amount, some of the, it reduces Secret Service, it reduces WACA, you know, that kind of stuff too.
It may be that I don't have many stops within the months that we can, which, can that reduce it more?
Yeah, that would reduce it some more.
But if the other stop is not an overnight stop, that isn't too much of a problem.
That's what it should be, I think, is just fly out in Peking.
But you could do that and instead stay in Peking and visit the Forbidden Palace or the Great Wall or something like that.
See, the Great Wall is down here an all-day trip.
I don't think you want to do that.
Because you have to be done to drive.
It's a four hour drive.
No, I don't do that.
I don't want a sightseeing.
I don't think I should go there for sightseeing.
Let's face it, it's true.
So I may not get up to.
I'll have every choose of time.
If I'm going to be born four days, I'm sure I'm not going to make it a trip anyway.
I can't justify it.
Well, by not spending the night in another city, you get out of a dead end, though.
Provincial leaders banquet time.
Alex is working it back to whoever talked to him to begin with, because we had an original contact with him.
I think he'd probably just assume that would count at all times.
that he won't be able to get around shit.
That's another thing.
You'll hear it directly from me.
Now, I was just so worried.
She said, apparently, on the back of the call, we won't put it out.
We should never put out a call, you know.
But she'll tell everybody.
Take it out.
That's another advantage of doing that is it has some visibility.
You know, and that raises the question, you know, people say, well, why did you, you know, where did he come from or something?
Well, the president sent him.
They've got some of those guys that they've used for this.
There are two or three of them that are very good property estimates.
Yeah.
It was a quiet day.
There was a very driving day in a sense because of the high tension.
They were purring to the press.
A lot of them got out there and wham it out there at the meeting.
They wham it out to some stuff they were doing yesterday.
And down to the Congress and back to the...
I didn't know where I was going.
Wells?
or a letter to ambassadors, maybe by, you know, is that important?
I remember I mentioned those four points being made, and I wonder if you could get that some way, because I believe in you.
I mean, I think it's good, but I just don't think it's as important as it would have been if you'd gone on that tour.
All right.
And, uh...
The thing to do the most is to frighten the damn human.
In fact, just to be sure that the Congress is calling on us.
There's a lot of congressional guys are doing that.
There's a lot of us.
The only thing we can do is to keep them in this one more year.
There's just a lot of heat we don't need to take if we can avoid it this year.
If they throw them out next November, that's fine.
From what he said after his first trip, the Chinese understood that.
Couldn't care less whether they got in this year or not.
That's what we did today.
We're prepared to leave.
I didn't realize that they don't have any of that call to stay.
I'm trying to get them to listen.
I don't know how all they really get around.
Those get out and
I should swear.
Good ways.
We push some of them on our way carefully, but some of them we just better if we don't.
the Bradford Sons of the King's Tribune, please.
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