Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 618 › Conversation 618-030

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on 1972 Presidential Election

Monday, November 15, 1971 · 1:16 PM–1:53 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation618-030 on Tape 618 (tape position 05:07:56–05:12:17)StartMonday, November 15, 1971 at 1:16 PMEndMonday, November 15, 1971 at 1:53 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 618-030 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated a memorandum summarizing a previous discussion with George E. Allen regarding political strategy and the upcoming 1972 election. The two men reflected on historical anecdotes concerning Harry Truman, FDR, and Nikita Khrushchev to frame their thoughts on the efficacy of public works programs and the limited political impact of vice presidential running mates. Nixon concluded the dictation by assessing the state of the economy, specifically noting that the stock market's recent performance reflected a positive outlook on the success of his Phase II inflation control program.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 60% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
He said under no circumstances should anybody be knocked.
He said that the only two things that were totally overestimated in politics were money and vice presidents.
What really counted was the man who ran for president.
Truman, no money in 1948, won, going away, and won anyway, as far as vice presidents are concerned.
They simply do not add her to the course of tracking.
He thought that Colin, for whom he had the greatest admiration, would not add any more in Texas than Edgelord would add.
He told a story about Harry Hopkins.
And at the time of the old WPA, when Hopkins
received a wire from the city saying that they had run out of shuttles.
Hopkins wired back and said, quote, tell them to lean on each other.
He told this story in connection with his suggestion that next year we should finance public works to produce on climate growth and roles and then immediately dispense with the back of the election.
He said that was exactly what Roosevelt did.
And he also told an apocryphal story.
The two-lettered Stalin hunt for Khrushchev.
Stalin told Khrushchev to read the letters when he was in trouble.
After Khrushchev had been in three or four years, he opened the first letter.
Get ready to blame everything on me.
Then after he'd been in trouble three or four more years, his wife said, you better read the second letter.
Khrushchev opened it and said,
That's the end of the game.
His wife said, I think you'd better read the letter.
He opened the letter, and the letter read,
He said that the reason the stock market was going down from 60% to discount the fact that inflation, that our H2 plans actually were going to work, and that they were discounting the inflation that was already in the market, that he thought that next year would be a good year, building on a more solid basis, I think, which is
with considerable skill.
His general feeling was that the main giraffes that are in any split in the presidency was being cruel, in spite of the enormous pressures.

NARA Description

On November 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 618-030 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 618-30

Date: November 15, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a memorandum for the file.

*****************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 04/07/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[618-030-w001]
[Duration: 4m 11s]

     The President's previous conversation with George E. Allen
            -Harry S. Truman
            -Spiro T. Agnew
                  -Possible nomination
            -Overestimated in politics
                  -Money
                  -Vice Presidency
                  -Harry S. Truman's 1948 campaign
            -Vice Presidents
                  -Relationship with President
                         -Importance in campaign
                  -John B. Connally
                         -Texas
                          -Compared to Spiro T Agnew
             -Harry L. Hopkins
                   -Story
                          -Work Projects Administration [WPA]
                          -Wire
             -1972 election
                   -Public works projects
                          -Franklin D. Roosevelt
                                -Effectiveness
             -Nikita S. Khrushchev
                   - Apocryphal story
                          -Letters from Josef Stalin
                                -Instructions for letters
             -Stock market
                   -Inflation
                          -Effect on stock market
             -The President’s program
                   -Phase II plan
                          -Possible success
                   -Inflation
                   -1972
             -The President's previous press conference
             -Public perception of the President

*****************************************************************

Also recorded on November 15, 1971

  • 618-024 12:50 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 12:57 pm.
  • 618-025 12:50 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:50 pm and 12:57 pm.
  • 618-026 12:57 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:57 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 618-027 1:16 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm.
  • 618-028 1:16 PM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm.
  • 618-029 1:16 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm.
  • 618-031 1:16 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm.
  • 618-032 1:53 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Dr. C. Jackson ("Dan") Grayson, Jr., George H. Boldt, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Stephen B. Bull, White House photographer, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:53 pm to 2:02 pm.

All 57 conversations from November 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 618-030, November 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/618-030 (accessed October 1, 2026).