Nixon, Colson & Haldeman on Foreign Aid and United Nations

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Yes, every unit.

Here's Jeffrey Hart, who of course is a tough, two-fisted guy who's just come out with a column today that he's sent to me in advance in which he talks about, brilliantly in the column, because he talks about Teddy's inconsistencies, how he flips from one side to the other.

He talks about the remark of the man who put up the billboards about impeaching Earl Warren.

And he said, Teddy's statement made the news, and for such an accomplishment, a little casual character assassination was a small price to pay.

He talks about throughout here how Kennedy just as interested in making news, regardless of what the issue is.

He talks about the Northern Ireland situation.

But right in the first paragraph, he says that in answering, Rehnquist in answering whether he's a contemporary man qualified for the court, at least Rehnquist knows how to drive an automobile.

which is one of the marks of a contemporaneous man.

He, Rehnquist, knows how to drive one, thus giving him an adjunct head.

I mean, it is impossible for him to avoid...

Mind if, with that car, too, that you get a good reproduction of it?

Well, what we're doing... Well, I think that's the greatest thing I've seen.

Well, we're going to buy it in England and have it reprinted as a pair sheet of the newspaper.

I see.

I've been working...

I don't want to have a copy...

And working out lists over the weekend, we have about 125,000 we can get it to easily.

But you can't do a big volume because you have to use the printed labels, which I can't use.

These have got to be, otherwise if it's a printed label, I can trace it.

That's right.

It'll raise, holy hell, you know, he'll scream like... Oh, Jesus, yes.

And they're turning up all over the place and he can't miss it.

But that sort of thing, I just think makes him

Totally vulnerable as a presidential candidate.

I don't think he can carry that burden.

Well Chuck, we've got to expect that Teddy, and to a lesser extent to us, slightly more responsible, but still hard as a Democrat.

I've got to come to you, sir.

I've got to come to you this morning.

I said, what the hell?

I said, you should expect that we're getting closer to the election.

The only thing they've got, they'll only play what they have to play.

It's positive.

And fortunately, we've got two perfect events coming up.

Three, of course, but the third is more problematic than that.

one of the teams, for a week, that'll dominate the news.

For a week?

Well, let's say a week when I'm there.

Second to Moscow, for a week, that'll dominate the news.

And so that's that.

But that's pretty good.

One will come in February.

The other's going to come in May.

And then in between, we just fight like hell.

And then, of course, sometime between now and the 1st of February, there'll probably be, you know, a circuit game.

before the 3rd, maybe before the 3rd of January, I should say, we'll have the final rundown of the amount.

Sometime in the next bit of time frame.

And that'll be good news.

It'll be good news, but it will be, that will be for people very soon.

I mean, you know, they'll say, well, I was here earlier.

We're not waiting to move on here.

We can't fool you.

But putting the suit again, Mr. President, has a hell of an impact.

Yeah, and also, I told Henry, I said, now,

I said, don't get disturbed about the fact that they're kicking us around about losing the U.N. vote and the lack of a check for views in the 40s.

I said, the thing is, if you've got to realize, I'm very impressed when I talk to you, I said,

They don't really, they wrote it.

I said, you forget that in June or July, the Mansfield Amendment passed in the Senate.

They wrote it down in two weeks.

You know, stunning defeat for the president.

That's right.

Right?

Exactly right.

And now there's a big defeat.

Now what the hell does it all mean?

Well, the foreign aid bill is, as Hempstone would say, the foreign aid bill is a tactical defeat.

He said, you'll have that back in no time.

And the wires this morning are reporting that

Mayhem is ready to go for his continuing resolution.

McGee came out of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate this morning and said, we're going to put a bill back together now.

We're going to go to work to put a good, complete bill back together.

And we'll support a continuing resolution.

And they're all beginning to retreat.

They have to.

They have to, of course they do.

But they were trying to do this, too.

They're trying to get action.

They're trying to get something.

They all know that...

we'd have reagan and buckman jumping up and down if i hadn't said something about the u.s of course because they wanted to get the hell out and it's very sort of common you know even common he said this is this is this is the oh yeah reassigned bush

That was my suggestion, to get him out of there and put him out.

He said reassign him, and then I vote.

And then he's trying to replace him.

So they try to take that.

I know the game.

And I'll try to say that this is a very intemperate remark.

It's all an intemperate remark, you know?

I didn't make it.

I didn't say they're making it.

Low key, we support the United Nations.

But we'll have to say that that kind of conduct, which would say they're weak.

But Bush is having that break.

Bush couldn't even.

covered you so well on that yesterday.

The news summary was in error this morning on what he said.

He did not say that the Peking trip had any effect.

In fact, quite to the contrary, he said that the timing of the trip couldn't be controlled and that if anything, it may have helped in proving that our policy was credible.

He did not say what the summary said.

But on covering the conduct of the delegates, he was just the first.

He said, you understated it.

He said, if anything, the president didn't state it as tough as it was.

He said it was awful.

It was just ugly.

It had all old-timers at the UN in tears.

The Israel plan is going beautifully under that.

Bill White called me this morning.

He said, I saw Bush on issues and answers, and he mentioned that an Arab

official had told him that he may, that Israel may be next on the list.

And he said, what, is there any truth to that?

And I said, well, I can only tell you that Bush told me privately that there was.

And he said, oh my God.

He said, I think I'll write that column.

He said, all those goddamn liberals that are dancing in the street.

He said, won't that give him second thoughts about the U.N.?

And so he's going off to write it.

That made us

That may just build into something.

You may find that...

I don't want to introduce the resolution, frankly.

Oh, the backlash from that would just, from our standpoint, would be superior.

I should tell a lot of people to be looking at it as you're looking at it.

You know?

Mainly not because you're going to say you want to keep the U.N. You know, it's a part of it.

You never know what the right way may be.

They make some clear orders.

The real problem, of course, is when they try to take out South Africa

That'll be it.

It won't be tough for me.

No.

We don't vote.

I won't vote against you in any way.

Right.

I'll tell you on South Africa, there'll be tribes in here, all people that are smart and black, that say, oh, we've got to do this, and I'll say, you're hell no.

We're not going to do it.

We'll show our relations that we at least stand with them.

Well, that won't come.

That probably won't come for a while.

I think it will be years.

The Israel thing has some very cute political, but just the idea is enough to shake people up.

Laird, I think if he goes out after he sees you today, could strike a couple of good blows for us on this foreign aid fight and the whole thrust of leadership.

Scali came to me just like Kissinger this weekend and said,

God, the president's got to go on television.

I said, John, that would be the worst thing you could do this weekend.

You've got to set the line.

You've got to know what we're doing.

But these fellows all react to the nasty knives that they get in the press.

I imagine that maybe it's going to Kissinger.

That's how it came around.

Because Kissinger doesn't have that kind of government.

But you don't have any doubts about it?

None whatsoever.

I don't want to go out and...

What has happened this morning is the best testimony to the posture you were in over the weekend.

The stories that flowed out of here over this weekend were that administration strategists were working hard to develop another plan, that they were burning the midnight oil, that they were working with congressional leaders, which put us right on top of it.

And then this morning,

McGee and Symington and all these fellows came out of the Foreign Relations Committee and said, yes, we've got to have a program.

Yes, we'll support a continuing resolution.

Yes, we'll get down to business.

Which shows that they're reversing.

If you had got on television and made this a major cause, that would just harden the lines.

They would just dig in.

So you're going to get the result by accounting as a base deal.

Very good intuition.

His judgment is not good.

He's basically emotional.

Oh, he's too emotional, yeah.

And he's also got his...

He's probably doing it the same as Henry is because of the leadership craft.

Right, right.

Of course, six weeks.

Who worked harder than us?

We worked on it all last week.

Scali's judgment is good once you get him off of an emotional kick.

When he's on an emotional kick, he...

I know.

And he's easy to get off of.

I mean, you sit him down and he's...

He's smart as hell.

You sit him down and you say, now look, John, here's why it wouldn't have been any good.

Well, you know, the thing I do, and I said, well, you can't go on anything.

Also, I...

I put thumbs down on the joint leadership.

I said, no, not do the HEMO program.

You don't call in and say, look, that was a terrible thing to do, and then say, what are we going to do, sir?

You see, they don't choose to read.

And I've heard the truth.

And also, I'm not so sure that it's a very good idea

for me to be out there fighting some of that harm for a... Not on that issue.

You know, I mean, let it be more a low-key level.

Let me say that I honestly, I must, I just haven't got a reaction about this.

And I have the same kind of reaction about the United Nations.

I think you're absolutely right.

It's just not something that people, as far as the United Nations is concerned, the conduct of the United Nations, the great majority of Americans agree with.

The times that you need to address the American people are when there is a very significant new initiative in foreign policy, when there is a great dramatic breakthrough or success, or when there is a crisis of such proportions that you have to address it.

But if you went to them on a tactical defeat in the Senate, you'd begin to lose credibility

Talking to the people in the mall.

Just can't be.

Remember I was, I remember too, going to work on that car that was only two weeks ago.

That's right.

They just seem to be forgetful.

And that was a hell of a big audience.

Forty-six million people.

Forty-six million?

Forty-six million.

They said, I've been there.

That was a good thing to go on.

So we come on this week and say, we just had a shattering defeat in the Senate, and I urge the American people to support foreign aid, support our foreign policy.

What would happen, Mr. President, is that it would not galvanize the nation.

And then, when the filibuster started, we'd have nothing to fight with.

I mean, we'd have shot the big gun.

We may.

We may have to.

They have a filibuster here.

Or if there's opposition, then maybe in another element, not using the crime timing.

It can be very sparingly.

Crack on the press conference, office press conference.

Or work out here.

Sure.

Just do it right in your region.

Right.

Always use, and this is the time for that.

Let them run their course in their own baton of all.

These people, and they weren't babbling about this, it'd be about phase two.

Yeah, exactly.

Really.

The politicians, the people here who are political.

Scali is working up a plan for this week.

I think it looks pretty good.

He's organizing, we met this morning on this, he's organizing some Blue Ribbon people like we did before.

the Dean Rusks and the Balls and the establishment carriers who can lobby for us on flight.

Let them get out front.

Also, you've got Laird today meeting with you, who can give us a good crack and ride this tomorrow.

I don't know whether either of them will do it, but I think Laird might.

I think Laird will.

He's been coming around beautifully.

I'll just say it, just really deep, and I can go out and say it.

From a television standpoint, it would be valuable to do it.

If he can't otherwise.

When you do see him, Mr. President, he's been giving some absolutely superb speeches.

Tuesday, Larry moved up to 3 o'clock.

Larry was reading that tree and put the, uh, County General, uh, who was the other County General, I can't remember his name.

Well, I can't remember his name.

Well, I was talking to him.

The County General wants to see me about something.

Is that right?

Yeah.

What is the other point that I just want to make, Steve?

Because I'm moving from there to three.

Whittle.

He's turned down on Schultz.

And Steve said Coonsey.

They're not getting on that.

At least Bob says they should go check.

You can check on them.

You can't put them on.

All right, so I do.

You're there.

Turn it down.

It's at 4 o'clock with Schultz.

Turn it down with Schultz at 4.

All right.

And Laird at 3.

And talk issues with Laird.

He's coming in at 3.

All right.

And have, okay, fine.

And you call Laird after you finish.

Yes, sir.

Watch him come at 3.

I've been talking to these people.

He's got a good line for this.

It would be very helpful to us if you mentioned it.

He just gave one.

Here's one he gave in Chicago that I haven't lived in.

He doesn't get much play in the band.

Well, he does.

He does when he strays from the reservation.

But, oh, no, locally, when he was in Chicago, he got a hell of a play on the street.

What's the line?

Throughout, he talks about, since January 1969, there's been a dramatic shift.

This yellow line where he talks about you in front of us.

But it's good stuff, and he's getting a hell of a lot better at this than he used to be.

Well, the matter of fact, you know, it's just as well as I have a little bit of controversy and

with what I know is some kind of survey.

And this time, the worst thing to do is to become dull.

Also, we haven't been dull for a while.

Let me say, face to it, you guys didn't talk about it.

There's no way to win on that.

It's confusing to say.

Also, let them say about the leadership crap and all the rest of the Democrats' wheel.

It's not new.

It's feeling worse the time the man is doing that.

You just go back and read that crap.

I remember the television commentators just saying how this was the end and the historic turning point for Congress.

It's all forgotten now.

But the significance right now is the Senate is turning around.

The Senate is turning around.

If they can respond to that screw that we twist on them, it is strictly a tactical thing.

If foreign aid were to become a major issue over the next several months, that would be bad.

But if they themselves begin to turn around, then out of this comes another Nixon victory, that they had a tactical defeat, but you got the Senate straightened out and got them out of there irresponsible ways.

That's not going to have any lasting impact.

It will be in any sense.

I think you're right, but I think where it should take is the line.

Our whole program, the organization, the whole mix of God helping others to help themselves, rather than Americans fighting to die for us.

depends upon our foreign aid and our foreign military assistance program.

The question, gentlemen, is whether we are going to have such a program which will enable our allies and friends around the world to defend themselves, or whether Americans will be called upon to keep our treaty commitments by sending Americans.

That's what it gets down to.

We've got treaties.

We've got time and a lot of other things.

That's a hell of a storm out there.

Sure is.

For the military citizens.

Everybody's got to hear that.

The Israelis, the Indians, the refugees, all that crap.

It's motherhood.

It is truly so.

Most of the right-wingers are against that show.

Well, I think this is good.

We can hit that.

That's the line he's been taking, so he's... Out of here today, it will have a much bigger impact, so tell him that.

Perfect.

Excellent timing.

Well, actually, I told him, Paul, I was so glad that you had us operating over the weekend, because it just shows what you can do when you're on top of these things.

You know, if we hadn't done it, you'd have left it back.

That's right, but we had a damn good counterattack, and I...

When you think of it, you start to think, oh, I don't remember any time in the 60s, I don't remember any time in the 80s, when any administration, Kennedy's, maybe Kennedy's in the 60s, had as much momentum as we've had in the last six months.

That's right.

There hasn't been an issue that, uh, they've been able to do it at the end.

Yeah.

Four months, that's not bad.

You know, the coverage we've had has been phenomenal.

Yeah.

We've had attacks all kinds of times.

They were panicked and thirsty, correct?

And it's done.

Sometimes it's, it's well allowed to happen, you know.

They, I mean that.

That's right.

We haven't had a little mistake.

We can't just be up all the time.

We've got to go back and go up again.

You can try to stay up all the time.

The floor, it's not just too big.

That's right.

Now, hey, it was all right.

I just want to tell you that this fellow Sherman, he said he's not dead.

He's not alive.

What we did, he said he's a black boy, right?

And he puts a lot of groundwork.

Why don't you do this?

Maybe he's worth having this interceded.

Well, I think that is good.

Exactly.

He's got something to say to the president.

He doesn't think he can say to the president.

That's the problem.

Yeah, he's the problem.

Well, you tell him that he is.

That's insane.

Well, now it's a flop thing, so you can see every goddamn thing he's written.

It's all ideas about the president.

This is a lie.

It's true.

It's a lie.

And Smith said that he's been approving it.

Smith said he's been bringing him along, putting him in a situation.

I guess he must be the only one who said it.

But he said he gets a little bit .

Well, the thing to do is to move him out of the state.

Sure.

Bring him in and give him a little .

That's right.

You just told me that.

Yes, sir.

But Hedgestone seems to be kind of like, he generally is favored with a lot of opportunities.

I don't think he knows what the hell they're trying to do.

He's a hard-riding conservative, and he just, how the hell does he survive?

He admires you, and he's a particular thief, and said he thinks it makes a good company.

I haven't heard he had any martyr reports of those kind of busty crimes.

I can imagine after that time trial yesterday, I didn't even look at the newspaper.

See, we got Warren Weaver on that poll, Jerry.

And he wrote a little funny piece.

Must be on the cover of the White House.

Oh, is he?

With a headline under Democratic Frontline.

And I just wrote, White goes to venue on Wednesday.

They're covered.

And the Harris poll ended Thursday.

They must have a lot of egg on their face in New York today.

Because...

They may not know.

You don't have any reports from his office as to how they feel.

We've called and asked for comments, but they won't discuss it.

Nixon, Colson & Haldeman on Foreign Aid and United Nations

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Also recorded on November 1, 1971

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Nixon, Colson & Haldeman on Foreign Aid and United Nations

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on November 1, 1971

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