Conversation 601-036

TapeTape 601StartTuesday, October 26, 1971 at 8:35 AMEndTuesday, October 26, 1971 at 10:00 AMTape start time05:26:34Tape end time05:56:39ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob");  Rogers, William P.;  White House operatorRecording deviceOval Office

On October 26, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, William P. Rogers, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:35 am and 10:00 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 601-036 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 601-36/602-1

Date: October 26, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:35 am and 10:00 am
Location: Oval Office

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

     Haldeman's schedule
          -Disneyworld
               -Ceremony
               -Haldeman
               -Roy O. Disney

                                                                   Conv. No. 601-36/602-1 (cont.)

                -Press coverage

The President spoke with William P. Rogers between 8:49 am and 8:55 am.

[Conversation No. 601-36/602-1A]

[See Conversation No. 12-130]

[End of telephone conversation]

     Rogers

     The President's schedule
          -Labor meeting
          -Henry A. Kissinger
          -John B. Connally
               -Forthcoming Congressional testimony
               -Budget meeting
          -Kissinger
               -Rogers
               -Timing
                      -Options

The President spoke with White House operator.

[Conversation No. 601-36/602-1B]

[See Conversation No. 12-131]

The President conferred with Haldeman during the telephone call.

     The President's schedule
          -Rogers
          -Kissinger

Haldeman spoke with Rogers.

[End of telephone conversation]

     North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
          -Ambassadorial appointment

                                                           Conv. No. 601-36/602-1 (cont.)

The President's schedule
     -Kissinger and Rogers
          -Press statement
     -The President’s trip to People's Republic of China [PRC]
          -Length

Kissinger’s trip to PRC
     -Secretarial staff

The President's forthcoming trip to the PRC
     -Female staff
     -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
     -Dwight L. Chapin
     -Hangchow
          -Mrs. Nixon
     -Rose Mary Woods
          -Press
     -Kissinger’s trip
          -Secretaries
     -Logistics
     -Mrs. Nixon
     -Press coverage
     -Adele (Langston) Rogers
     -Mrs. Nixon
          -Press coverage
     -The President's role in approval of personnel
          -Secret Service
          -Military staff
          -White House staff
          -Press corps
     -Mrs. Nixon
          -Staff
                 -Constance M. Stuart
                 -Ronald L. Ziegler
                 -J. Bruce Whelihan
                 -Requirements
     -Woods
          -Assignment
          -Kissinger
     -Zosimo T. Monzon

                                                           Conv. No. 601-36/602-1 (cont.)

     -Kissinger
          -Staff
     -Rogers
          -Secretarial staff
          -Adele Rogers
     -Arrival
          -Mrs. Nixon
                -Mrs. Chou En-Lai
     -Secret Service
     -Mrs. Nixon
          -Press coverage
                -The President’s view
                -Francis Lewine
     -Press
          -John A. Scali
          -Television crews
          -The President’s view
          -The President's role in approval of personnel
                -Theodore H. (“Teddy”) White
                      -Time-Life magazine
                             -Possible effect
                      -Ziegler
                      -Scali

Patrick J. Buchanan
      -Schedule
            -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
      -PRC trip
            -Effect

The President's forthcoming trip to PRC
     -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
     -William L. Safire
     -Buchanan
     -Safire
     -USSR trip
           -Speechwriters
     -Buchanan
     -White House staff attendance
     -Kissinger
           -Memorandum by Haldeman

                                                                 Conv. No. 601-36/602-1 (cont.)

                     -Chapin
           -Chinese position on ground station
                -Networks
                -Western Union, International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT] Company

     The President's schedule
          -Kissinger

     Kissinger
          -Press contacts
               -Backgrounders
                     -The President’s view

     Administration press contacts
         -Ziegler
         -Backgrounders
               -The President’s view
               -The President's conversation with John D. Ehrlichman

     The President's schedule
          -National Security Council [NSC]
          -Rogers
          -United Nations [UN] vote on Taiwan
               -Countries
                      -Meetings with the President
                           -African nations

This conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 10:00 am; it is continued on reel 602.

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.

It was great.
No, it was awful.
It was a great thing they put on it.
Yeah, it was good.
I presented the flag to Roy Disney, and they covered all that up.
Hello, sir.
This is a great day for demonstrators, Mr. President.
Great day for demonstrators.
I had a thought.
I've been reading this morning's paper.
I know it's just on to do.
And the Russian network makes a lot of noise about the European Security Conference.
And I think that's being well.
And we've talked about this.
Tomorrow, I need to be well.
You keep the thing very, very cool.
I mean, as you first said, we don't want the damn thing.
Well, we have to have at some point, but let's, these damn Europeans, the way they play, I think it's very, very much in our interest to do that.
And also, we can play the competition with the Russians because, you know, we play very cool with Russians.
I mean, what the hell is this?
And when I said, well, we'd have to wait and we'd look into it and so forth.
So, in talking, we haven't even friends left in Europe.
Of course, the Italians are for the British.
When I spoke to Hugh, and I think he must have told you the same thing, he's not too keen on the darn thing.
But let's just, yeah, I know, I know, but let's not get that nantide going so that it comes before our Soviet thing or
Roar!
Or are even, are even, are even that we indicate too much, well, I think that we just indicate every time, every, when you're, when you're looking at an item laid off by, by my house, you just sort of indicate, well, this is a two-thirty thing, and we've got to consider it, and what have we got to talk about, and, you know, I mean, so that, so that, that we don't, that there's a crest of love that brings us to this kind of thing.
And if it would be a mess right now, it would be a,
Yeah.
Well, yeah, right.
We must go to the house.
I know.
I know.
I know.
I know.
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Right.
But I think that we can indicate, well, we are open to any conference.
There's a lot that we have to do today.
But the way the French are trying to play, it just burns my tail.
God damn that.
They just want to play this game.
Okay, well, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, I was going to press on her.
What I had is a full press conference.
I don't think there's any other thing here.
Just a little bit of this on you.
Right.
And that it went, and it went.
I think that, constantly, we believe it's not a very good freshman for the United Nations.
I think that it goes far beyond what I wanted.
And, no.
Yeah, you've got, you've got,
You've got to say that, but let me say that.
I'm a lovely pervert.
You can say that, but don't worry about that.
We'll take care of that another way.
No, you've got to give the usual answers that you have.
I don't know.
but I think I'm gonna say tomorrow.
I thought it was tomorrow because I've got Connolly on before his.
We've got a lot of budget things, and I gotta get those out of the way because I didn't realize he'd be released Thursday.
Connolly does, so I'm gonna spend most of the day with him.
Sure, sure, sure, sure, I'll do that.
I'll do that, I'll do that.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, the main thing is, the main thing is just keep it.
I think in our life, I'm saying, because of the French, I keep our open box and we'll cool one and two, because I don't want the Russians to think they got us with the tail.
Because they've seen something they want.
In fact, I think they're going to give us something to get that, believe me.
Good.
Good.
Well, this is murder.
Well, even that silly Frank doesn't realize that.
Okay, well, I'm not sure.
Okay.
Uh, he has a point there.
He said, incidentally, I must not have the meeting today.
The budget meeting is off.
I didn't.
We'll put it tomorrow.
Because I want, uh, I want Henry...
I want Henry to be here with me.
Well, that's what the court said that he was supposed to do.
That's right.
But leave Connolly on.
And I'll just move the coffee thing out of the home because I'm going to spend time to have a couple hours with Connolly anyway.
So just leave him on for time.
All right.
All right.
And then you're queer with him all afternoon.
Yeah.
I had several things I had in mind.
I talked to him.
He's, uh...
He said he wanted to have all day Wednesday, basically.
He has to testify Wednesday morning.
He said he'll be here by 1, so he would be available from, say, 1.30 on Wednesday.
Well, the point is that with this thing cut, we'll set this meeting for tomorrow at 3 o'clock.
In other words, just change this meeting from the Biden meeting to tomorrow at 3 o'clock.
And then I think it'll only take a couple hours tomorrow.
He could just beat a goal from three to five tomorrow.
That would be enough.
And this may, this may tell the day that I put Henry back in his day with a team of six, but I think it ought to come in when Henry first reports to me, which I think, I mean, Henry obviously, see, Henry is, Henry cannot do that tomorrow morning.
I've got to see Henry tonight.
I've got to find out what the hell is going on.
Can't you do that?
Can't you just run in and have Rogers come in with Henry tomorrow morning to report?
Can't you get rid of that?
Because Henry will tell somebody.
I mean, he comes in.
You kind of set it up with Belker.
You said you'd just see him with him.
It's not that you'd make me see him tomorrow.
Well, no, but I know that...
He's just got to be there when Henry reports to the contractor.
Now, uh, uh, let's set it up for breakfast with, uh, Henry.
Bill.
It was just exciting.
Make it 8.30.
I wish.
The paper is really incredible.
The president suggested that you and Henry have breakfast tomorrow morning at 8.30, which would be the basis for getting Henry's report.
Is that okay for you?
All right.
We'll announce it.
We'll put it out right now.
that he will be, uh, Kissinger will be reporting to you on the president's long-awaited reference, uh, to return on things, so they have a story today.
Wait a minute, wait a minute.
Now, wait a minute.
Oh, okay.
Well, rather than announcing what's going on in the briefing anyway, what I mean to say is that, yes, the president wants to have breakfast with the secretary.
Dr. Gist, you're going to want to get a record.
Dr. Gist, you're going to have to check.
Okay.
Great.
That's awesome.
We won't make any big things, but that'll start us up thinking.
You can spend as much time as you want with Henry tonight without... Yeah.
Apparently, you've probably gotten reports that it came out logistically, it came out damn well, except, which I don't think is bad.
You said you wanted a short trip.
Apparently, we're going to have to go for the seven days.
Let me start right now.
I'm just going to do this.
Hold it in bed.
It's inevitable.
Henry took two female secretaries with him on this trip.
You know that?
No.
Yeah.
Well, now, that takes it.
I told Henry that it's impossible not to have that, but we have women secretaries on this trip.
Remember when we talked about that?
Well, Joyce said that
Strongest clue on that came in one session where they said that other cities they want you to visit is Hang Chow.
And they said that's a city Mrs. Nixon would very much enjoy.
And he said, I'm going to go on and I'm going to go on and I'm going to go on and I'm going to go on and I'm going to go on and I'm going to go on.
Now that Henry is wrong about that, that he should not have taken two weapons secretaries in this damn trip.
I didn't know he had.
I don't know if he should have taken them.
Anyway, it's just that he goes first class.
Well, the way it's working out, they're giving us the ground station and all that.
So, uh...
On that basis, you're probably better off to have that there anyway, so that you've got something for the others to stop.
Although, if you've got it in the morning, frankly, because you're only in it in the morning, you're all, you're supposed to go around and look around places, and also you're going to get out amongst the people.
That's done.
That's, that's a disadvantage.
There's some chief of law.
That's a hell of a problem.
And I think it will be an advantage too for her.
She'll make the, we want to knock every goddamn bit of wood.
Well, now I, I, I worked out three, four things and I want to get this first.
I know all about what they say, all that sort of thing.
I know all of my staff then.
So, but now let me say, on this one, Bob, I accept the state of service and for the communications people, I only want to approve the round number.
You give me the round number and I'll approve it.
Or have they, have they, have they, have they already agreed on that?
Is that?
On the military, I will approve it man by man.
I mean, you know what I mean by that?
I want to know what that is.
And on everybody from the White House staff, I will approve it man by man.
every oppressed individual.
I will approve, man by man.
I'm going to listen to what they mean, and I will approve every one.
I just want to be sure that it's done, because I don't want people to get their hopes up before I get them.
I've got some strong ideas about what I'm going to do now, for example, with regard to PATH.
I've already prepared the way I even, see, I had a message again, David, about it, and I said, now there's a change that may go, and I said, if you do go, I said,
We have to have very small staff.
We will not be able to take any of your staff.
So we fudged Connie, who is terribly abrasive, and she gets in my hair.
Connie doesn't go.
None of those stupid women.
But that means that we have to have, and I said, we've got to have a man.
I'm not sure he's a press guy, because I don't know whether he's a sailor.
I mean, Christ, that Wollingham isn't smart enough to go in.
He is.
He's lucky to have a staff.
Good answer, though, yeah.
Well, I don't know whether he's got somebody, but my point is, we've got to have a man.
I'm not speaking so much of a press guy, because I am perhaps an advanced man type who can do her stuff.
Okay.
Now, that's the smartest son of a bitch, and it's fine.
But you see what I mean?
That would be infinitely better than that.
The second thing is, with regard to Rose,
I want her lecture, and I mean cold turkey, that she's going to fill in for everybody.
In other words, she's got to work for everybody on this trip.
And it isn't going to be one of those, how do you do these, you know, of going to this event and that and the other.
The cautious person can work something in that is that way, because they, Henry says they do invite all the people in and all the rest.
Well, that's fine, but I just, I just don't want it.
I just want it.
I'm not going to lose that one.
I just want to go very thin on this one.
I really do.
I want to see how thin we can really go.
We can go damn thin.
We've got it.
I think.
Right.
Well, you've got to do some cooperation on it, for example, which is great.
And, uh, but, you know, I just don't want to have people standing around in my way.
I'm just, I know, for example, that Munson can do the work all days I have around him for
I think we've got it.
We've got it.
There's nobody approved.
to go, and there's nothing set at this point.
And the other point I was going to say is that I think you've got to see Bob Rogers, not peace.
I think that's not what he's going to have to have a secretary with him.
Because he's going to do his own thing on that.
His wife is not going to go over there.
I'm not going to have two women on my hands.
Another thing, just want to make you know, is that when we arrive, we've got two of these arrangements where Pat can ride if there is a Mrs. Joe and I, with the woman, and not with us, with me.
You know, you can't have that business where she rides with me.
You know what I mean?
And then, I've got to ride with the head of government.
You understand?
Yeah.
And then, you know, as we've already told you, there's not going to be a Secret Service backup car.
So I want you to know, I know you don't have that in your car.
And, uh,
I think I've done that pretty well.
Her presence will, of course, complicate it.
And I want her separately scheduled.
That's the point.
I want her separately scheduled.
The other thing is, there is nothing to be gained by having women's press to go on the cover.
Let the men go on the cover of the women's press.
with the hardwired scally of pain.
Three full television crews, which leaves, that goes too far on the television side.
Just making a man move.
Everybody, is that correct?
Yeah.
I mean, and you've got to, I want you to sit down and go over a heart of this thing with that, but then I will approve the individuals every line.
I'm going to approve one of them.
I mean, I've given some thought to it.
And it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
except that it does, you have to do one thing for the historical sense.
I think we will take Teddy White.
And I think particularly, but I think what you want to try to broker with him is to have him represent Chinese life.
See?
But the reason I'm thinking of Teddy White is that he could be the influence.
And he sees the whole thing in a different perspective than the others.
He's looking at it in the presidential perspective instead of the big news perspective.
Plus the fact that he's so goddamn grateful to go there.
But he's got to be, I don't want Sidney to tell him.
I want him to be told at a much higher level.
Let me tell him, let me really put the screws on him and track down.
I think we ought to scan him and track him either.
Because on this one, he ought to be, because the president almost brought him to camp.
Mike said it.
President Stahl has made this decision, saying we're bringing a lot of China here, the only one going.
President, why don't you go here?
You know a lot about this subject and all that sort of thing.
I thought he was going to go there as a House person.
I think, too, that you've got to...
I think you should tell...
I didn't realize he was a Canada talk to Russia person.
I didn't realize that either, but he is.
That's fine.
conference.
It's fine.
But I think you should tell him again that he needs to go, okay?
If you have to, and I'm sure you don't want to tell anybody, but just, well, I think he's the best.
I think he's the right one to come.
For purposes of keeping the right action so that he'll be more enthusiastic, he'll be able to take back everybody.
He's got a word for writing.
He's a hell of an actor, the right one, especially after this vote.
I think everything like that that we can do for a single election is important to him.
Well, okay.
Price, price went up and it increased.
I mean, I realize everybody, there's no problem in making the case.
Sapphire, of course, is making a huge case because he thinks he can write a picture better than anybody, but that... Sapphire?
Yeah.
Well, he can't write history at all.
I don't know if he can write the worst, but that, whether he can or not, doesn't make any difference.
I mean, that, that, uh, he can write it on notes that other people provide, and Sapphire is the right guy to go.
Oh, I get it.
Okay.
That's better on, or just as good on the speed stuff.
And he's better at moving around with the rest.
Better at moving around with the rest of the staff.
He's more believable.
And he pushes it harder.
And also, we're going to leave that world, as I said, I personally think, now we, we should, you know, set up our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our, our,
And that is that if you do, your wife is going to have a little problem.
So I just go on and say, look, we've got two trips.
You're going on this.
You can't just go on this.
That's what we're doing because of them.
But they can't.
They can't.
See, we've got to think in a way where we've just gone, we've tried to balance this among people that Ray or Bill have both made major trips.
That's right.
That's the guy who's been around the longest.
Joe hasn't been on a trip.
That's right.
And also, you can say this.
It doesn't look right to me, but you've got this.
It doesn't make that much of a buggy.
And they're entitled to it.
Each guy wants to go and he's going to have a chance to say, I want to go.
And, you know, they all figure if I don't ask, well, I won't even be thought of much, so I better at least ask.
But not Sapphire.
Sapphire's had clients.
Yeah.
And you can't do everything for everybody.
You've got to pay it to them.
You've got to pay European credit.
Well, you've got to look at this one not on the basis of what you owe, but what you, what does you the most good.
And I think, I honestly think times is more good in that you can get some double mileage out of it.
Well, please, Morgan, do your press down.
I hope you are.
Well, we can get it all sorted out in this next few days and then tell some of these people so we get the, we cut the action so people know who's going and people who aren't going know they aren't.
Don't worry about it, man.
No other way.
In fact, I get that about damn fast.
See, up until Henry's death, we had a great basis for sonics.
We could say we don't have any idea who's going or anything else.
Now we should get it pretty much looked at.
Henry's view of what the Chinese want to turn up to be wrong.
He's always right.
But on the other hand,
If we hadn't talked to Henry, his due, he would have proved it right.
Of course he would.
If we hadn't done it under pressure, he was under very stiff pressure.
And the fact he knew, I think writing that memo, as you suggested, was a good idea because that, that shook his office up and him a little, quite a little.
Because I sent, see I wrote the memo for the file and sent a copy to Kissinger and a copy to Chapin.
And so he knew that Dwight knew what it was we were looking for and then he couldn't, couldn't, couldn't.
It's crazy, trying to lock it up where it is, what?
I was getting quite a bit of attorneys, I think, on the, on the ground station.
The way they had come back on it is, it puts them in a good position.
They paid for it.
At least it worked that out.
That may also be a problem.
The network, for a long reason.
Not the network, the, uh, it's, what's it called, IT&T or somebody like that.
I think some of the adults have figured out the deal for them.
I would think they'd jump into it.
We've got to get him under some, you know, get him under reasonable control so that, you know, it's not, you know, backgrounders and all that sort of thing.
You, for me, have seen my memorandum of a new son right now with backgrounders.
I have a copy of that, yes.
Briefly, 19 out of 25 bureau chiefs said that they thought we had a problem with this and that and the other thing.
Now, they may deserve it, but Henry's not.
I just, I don't want to say we're going to give them any more background news.
Beyond the record, we're going to give them anything.
We go too far with those anyway, and generally, Bob, they are not hopeful.
They really are not.
I mean, we've got to face the fact that, you know, usually you give it to one column or something like that, but basically they build up the man, but they don't come to the president.
It's just, I guess, that we've got to, and it's true that the domestic staff don't talk to her about it.
One thing that was approved in here, and I should get at it right away, the NNC staff and the Rockers is awful on this.
For any kind of favors, you understand what I mean?
And that is one of them.
For example, if a president is trying to be in or is
You know, this or the Prince or something of that sort.
And that one that I agreed to is to just say that the President's schedule has changed.
Just knock it off.
Don't let this or anybody else or anybody talk about it.
I don't want to see it.
Well, I don't know.
There was one that I approved.
I don't recall what it was.
Some jackass.
That's the one.
It must be just for an appointment.
Well, it is an appointment, John.
It's a half hour, three quarters of an hour.
I approve.
I will not do anything.
I will not do anything.
I will not do anything.
I will not do anything.