Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 718-001
Date: Wednesday, May 3, 1972 at 7:58 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/718-001

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[2:42] Yes, sir.
[2:48] All right.
[2:59] It will be approximately a half hour service and they're figuring on you for 10 minutes.
[3:18] Lash will do the opening prayer and
[3:29] The networks have demanded the opportunity to cover it.
[3:57] position was that they don't permit it in this church because it was a regular person who considered lifting this rule.
[4:07] And they asked informally if he would object to coverage, and we said that that was up to the church.
[4:26] Your clip ran on all the networks.
[4:29] That's the one that came out the way it should have.
[4:32] It was the leading story on every network.
[4:36] And your full film clip ran on all of them.
[4:41] It was very good stuff.
[4:46] He, of course, just dominates the news with all kinds of eulogies.
[4:51] Fortunately, Benjamin Spock comes out and says his death is a great blessing to America and a good thing to get rid of him.
[5:00] But like John Chancellor said, there were dozens of statements of sorrow and tribute that the most significant came for the Jewish reason.
[5:09] The President will deliver the eulogy at National Presbyterian Thursday, but he may have spoken the epitaph Tuesday.
[5:16] The FBI is his eternal line.
[5:27] carry the U.S. flights at half-mast, and the flight with the FBI will always fly high, despite the vicious attempts.
[5:34] Good.
[5:34] Not a lot of film with Luther, and I'm quick.
[5:36] I can see he has to write an hour special on it.
[5:39] But with all the cops, it's a good thing to have that.
[5:41] It's a good thing to have that.
[5:45] It's a good thing to have that.
[5:49] It's a good thing to have that.
[5:50] It's a good thing to have that.
[5:52] The general press is really playing it pretty well.
[6:01] How are they playing it?
[6:05] They're playing it as a loss, but only, you know, they're not playing it as if the war was over.
[6:13] They say the first provincial capital to fall in the month-long siege.
[6:18] They say they're out of panic.
[6:21] Pessimism in Saigon at the other times, we... Yeah, and there's some of that.
[6:25] There is much.
[6:26] You don't get... You don't?
[6:27] No.
[6:28] You really don't.
[6:28] It's amazing.
[6:30] They say that Kwamtree was a major defeat, but the third...
[6:32] The third was to take a hold of other areas, the other battles to fight.
[6:36] And I...
[6:37] It's good.
[6:38] You can't take her over Kwamtree, and they should try.
[6:41] We've prepared it.
[6:42] And we've said it.
[6:43] The parties to Saigon are making that point.
[6:46] But I have said it every time.
[6:47] Sure.
[6:47] We're going to sour some losses.
[6:49] Sure.
[6:52] Your dinner last night was an absolute masterpiece.
[6:56] Well, they had discovered Henry wasn't around, but they couldn't find him yesterday, you know, and so they had started building up that Henry's gone.
[7:05] And they went up, a couple of them went on the air with, you know, where is Kissinger?
[7:08] He must be in Paris.
[7:10] And right after they went off the air,
[7:14] One network, the other hadn't gone on yet.
[7:16] NBC had been on right after it came off the air.
[7:21] It was announced that President Glenn, you know, they had seen your motorcade and asked what was happening.
[7:28] And Jerry said, yes, the President's coming for dinner on the display.
[7:32] And that's all he said.
[7:33] And they said, all right, well, who was with him?
[7:36] And he said, let me check.
[7:37] He said, Dr. Kissinger and General Haig.
[7:42] And it just completely...
[7:45] They didn't know where they were.
[7:48] And then it doesn't, they're not starting to figure out where they are.
[7:52] Now, that's the end of your conclusion at this point.
[8:15] And not bombing?
[8:17] We're going to bomb after that.
[8:23] I tend to agree with it, certainly, last night.
[8:26] However, I want to see this pulled.
[8:28] I mean, here's the whole point.
[8:29] Why that?
[8:30] If going, if not going to the summit is going to be a plus, then it's worth doing it.
[8:36] I mean, my point is that if
[8:39] People still want you to go, despite the things in South Vietnam.
[8:41] You see what I mean?
[8:43] And what we accomplished on the road.
[8:47] Henry is obviously very dissapointed with what happened and he's looking into things and he can't go.
[8:51] And he's buying the argument that we can't go.
[8:57] We're in this position.
[9:01] On the other hand,
[9:02] There is a counter argument, which is that not going is going to be played as the collapse of the Nixon foreign policy.
[9:11] Well, the fight is, as I was writing last night, the fight is what we get from cancer.
[9:26] canceling the summit certainly loses the does.
[9:30] It hardens the opposition on the board, the Congress, strengthens the hawk, bears the weight of Obama.
[9:38] But the key is, what happens then?
[9:44] I mean, if they lose, if canceling the summit, then we go out and bomb, and then we win the war.
[9:54] And that's the key to winning the war, and we'll do it in a minute.
[9:58] But the key question is, are they ready?
[9:59] That canceling the summit, of course, would have an immediate reaction, very courageous, and to do the right thing, to do a good one.
[10:09] That's not the question.
[10:10] I was all fixed with it.
[10:11] But on the other hand, in the final analysis, what really matters is the failure of a successful policy.
[10:16] Yeah.
[10:17] It's the failure of a successful policy.
[10:20] I was, I tried it out on that.
[10:27] And last night, I involved people.
[10:34] I'm .
[10:34] You don't hear it, but there may be other .
[10:36] As he had mentioned, he said, well, he said, you just can't imagine how much, what strength he's had, what courage he's had.
[10:44] He volunteered .
[10:45] He's a really great, really great around.
[10:48] It's been that way since before here.
[10:53] And not only do you know I'm a hell of a hawk, but he says, I think you ought to go and get help when you can.
[11:04] Isn't that serious?
[11:05] Yeah, if you can...
[11:06] The problem with that would be, okay, if you can do it still appearing to be in a position of strength by continuing the bonding hall, but if by continuing the bonding they cancel the summit, then you've got another problem.
[11:19] Maybe it doesn't matter.
[11:22] If they cancel, you can leap out.
[11:24] I'd like to put that
[11:37] Why don't we just drop the analyst thing?
[11:59] Well, I mean, the problem there is they don't have compulsory chapel.
[12:04] They have three chapels.
[12:05] This is the Protestant chapel.
[12:09] The chapel seats 2,000.
[12:11] There will be only 1,000 people.
[12:12] Could you do that?
[12:23] Yeah.
[12:24] We haven't announced that we're going or anything.
[12:25] No, I don't think we have.
[12:27] I think I could get out of it if I could.
[12:29] Let me see.
[12:30] I think you can.
[12:31] That, that'd be best because we're getting closer to things right now.
[12:34] Yeah, okay.
[12:39] Okay, we're there.
[12:40] Wait.
[13:34] I have not said anything to him about this.