Nixon, Kissinger & Bull on John B. Connally and White House press relations

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Walter says he's

The trouble is they're treating him so well now that he's going to gain ten pounds stuffing him as if he were a peaking duck.

Sure.

I think they appreciate actually this Indian-Pakistan thing if we play it cleverly.

We won't lose the Indians because there's nothing to lose there.

I mean, they haven't done a goddamn thing for us.

And...

I was noticing another story.

I think that Cumberland thinks there's some sort of campaign coming right after this.

Against Cumberland?

Yeah.

I didn't like the book.

I didn't like the speech.

Well, there's a story then this morning.

There's a Kraft article.

saying that Connolly has been bridled.

I talked to Connolly this morning on the Italian thing where I think we can get away with it.

Their presidential election won't be open over until December 29th.

Then the government has to resign.

So they don't want an invitation now.

So we are in the best position we can say we extend it.

You reassured him on the articles?

I reassured him, he says he thinks it comes from Peterson and the Fed.

I think Peterson could be one of them.

Peterson?

No.

Well, you see, what of course happens is...

So say Peterson is at a dinner party, he may just emote a little about how bad the situation is.

I mean, I get people

saying how that Peterson, Stoltz, Burns, and Connolly are managing the economic thing.

They don't even mention me, which is fine.

I don't want to be mentioned.

Well, my only concern here is Connolly.

I don't give a damn about their saying that we're doing this and that, but I will not have any misdemeanor.

Because he is a very sensitive man.

He thinks the White House is doing it.

Of course, what I think is happening, Mr. President, is that it's the, it's people who are trying to knock him off for the vice-presidential possibility.

Right.

And are trying to, in the press, and are trying to discredit him because it's not working.

Because I haven't, first of all, our real problem has been solved, not

Not Connolly in the last two weeks.

Connolly is doing exactly...

It's down to you.

Preciseland has smoked out.

You see what he did?

Went to Berkley's.

Preciseland went to Berkley's.

Now, Sid Stills, the son of a bitch, was always with him all the time.

Mr. President... Rockies are trying to sell out some of this to me.

You're not saying you're nice?

Get all my medics in here, Mr. President.

Yost is another one of these sons of bitches.

Um, Preciseland...

On the left wing of it too.

I didn't realize precisely.

This morning, I'm not going to have that fist on him.

In your background of the day, in concept, I would volunteer the information that gentlemen speaking on record, that I, you know, I'm perfectly honest with you.

The most

Totally.

That he was at a home meeting.

Most totally.

False stories.

Those indicating that Secretary Connolly has been bribed by Secretary Connolly.

And I just thought, I just knocked him out.

Well, I actually, I talked to Connolly on the phone this morning.

This sentence we didn't agree on, but I told him I'm giving a background.

I may be asked about it.

What should I say?

And what he asked me to say.

is exactly, with just a slight, you know, difference in language, what I would have said.

I mention this only to indicate that we are in total agreement.

So I'm going to use his precise language.

And I'll have to say that all this talk about disagreements between the White House and the Secretary of the Treasury is totally wrong.

Well, as a matter of fact, President considers the Secretary of the Treasury's top economic

He's the top economic advisor, whatever you want to call it, in the administration.

That's it.

He's about everything.

They say, what about Schultz?

Well, he's always one.

And C.J.

yesterday, right?

Tom has been the one that has the whole picture.

He's the one in foreign and domestic stuff.

This kind of story is totally without knowledge.

And everything that's being done in the field is not only done with the concurrence, but at the recommendation of the secretaries.

The recommendation of these things worked out.

It's just one of those, you have to constantly do this.

There's the air, there's the air, the economy, and all that.

You see, Mr. President, they basically like to drive you off.

What they like to do is to get you suspicious, which you could be, and why not stop and quit and help?

If they know we've got it linked, if they know that by the end of January we're going to have an agreement, well, too, they know that our company is a power of man.

And they'd like to drive it on.

Exactly.

This is a consistently...

It's a consistently hostile practice.

That is,

determined to piss on everything we do I think it came out fine I took it another ride today and that's one thing I hate to keep harping on it I mentioned it to Mitchell yesterday and he said I could raise it and he'll raise it right and I've scheduled a meeting on Mideast policy with a large group of congressmen and senators tomorrow

and there's just no way we can keep him from blowing the whole goddamn thing.

And the tragedy is, after getting us into a needless confrontation with the Israelis, he's now gonna collapse on us.

If he were tough, I mean, as long as he's civilian, they'll hate him anyway.

If he could stay tough, then you could sell the goddamn thing for your Russian ploy.

If he gets the planes away on Wednesday,

We've got nothing to deal with them on, on the other thing.

If you agree, I think, Mitchell, you ought not to get into that.

It's not worthy of you.

It's the real problem is that the President of the United States shouldn't have to do that.

And if you agree, I'll get Mitchell to call him and say, now look, we want you to shut up on this.

And do it right after the meeting.

Let's still attempt the meeting.

And then he'd read them all.

Yeah, but then it's explaining you apologizing.

You were the old man.

And what is yours?

You ought to be the man.

First of all, it is true.

They would never have moved in the State Department without you.

Well, the first one is that we have a lot of... That's all right, Mr. President.

I've been given this whole strength here.

And I'm sorry to tell you that I can tell you the truth as hands, but no.

Now that it's got here, he can't step in and turn around.

He could have gone in and believed nothing.

I think my service might say, hey, Dan, you still have to give them a thing.

These cops are going to blow.

They'll leak it.

Well, they'll blow the mayor into the tree.

If he goes to the woods, I'm going to be there.

They have us to go to the corner of the mirror.

I think we're going to get the money.

I think my service is going to be doing it.

He may have asked Bob to send him on.

It shows a mentality that is almost incomprehensible.

Let me get Mitchell.

I'll join you in a minute.

Thank you.

Nixon, Kissinger & Bull on John B. Connally and White House press relations

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Also recorded on November 30, 1971

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