Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 768-010
Date: Monday, August 14, 1972 at 11:29 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Rinfret, Pierre; Colson, Charles W.; Connally, John B.; White House photographer
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/768-010

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:03] All right, Gary, how are you?
[0:04] How are you, sir?
[0:05] I can see you.
[0:06] I can see you.
[0:07] You're a good cop in here.
[0:08] You've always traveled like this.
[0:10] I don't know.
[0:10] I don't know if I can see you.
[0:12] I haven't seen you.
[0:14] He's kind of toning us up.
[0:16] John, you sit over here.
[0:18] Gary, you sit over there.
[0:33] Well, what I want to say before you say anything.
[0:38] And I am delighted by the way you...
[1:09] I don't think God knows what anybody should do about the economy.
[1:17] The point is, we need
[1:49] one other thing if you will perhaps you mentioned you haven't mentioned this now if you did this morning you've got an IMF meeting here in September that's right and they're all going to be present in the world and they're all going to be present in the United States and you've got all these people who are you know got all these theories primarily the central bank fixed exchange rate that they have they're going to say well the United States is playing we're responsible we're you know we've done it all or we haven't done it
[2:22] This is going to happen because every country in the world is going to tend to blame us.
[2:25] So we're going to have to have some thrust to counteract it.
[2:33] Now, from a strictly political standpoint, I think what we have to be saying is that, what I've raised my hand on, and I've said it because we insist on fair play, these trading partners we've always talked about have suddenly turned into trading competitors.
[2:54] really partners at all.
[2:55] They're competitors.
[2:55] They're fierce competitors.
[2:58] With your fertile imagination, you've got to come up with some ideas and some language of how you posture this thing in a positive, affirmative way, and yet one that will appeal to the American businessman and working man.
[3:27] My father put it very well.
[3:28] My father said that the cooperation of the Europeans means we give these things what's ours.
[3:45] I love it.
[3:47] God, we don't eat bread.
[3:49] We don't give these.
[3:50] Oh, yeah, you're right.
[3:51] We don't give this out for anything.
[3:53] This is the money, but it also has to circulate nicely.
[3:56] Take care.
[3:58] I'll enjoy it.
[4:03] Thank you a lot.
[4:08] Sure.
[4:09] Let me...
[4:29] he was tied up.
[4:30] On this, on this driver, I went back and called George Christian.
[4:37] George Christian said, that's number one, this driver didn't know what was going on in Paris, because President Johnson did not trust him.
[4:44] The reason he sent him over there was to get him out of the United States.
[4:49] And George had a very excellent idea.
[4:53] He thought that
[5:00] And see if Dean Russell would not make a statement.
[5:04] Because, in effect, what Shriver is saying, he is attacking Dean Russell and President Johnson.
[5:12] Of course.
[5:14] You see, because what were they doing for 90 days when this signal came?
[5:19] Now, they should have won.
[5:20] They won that war, too.
[5:21] Of course they did.
[5:23] Now, Johnson stopped the bombing to end the war.
[5:27] Now, you've got a man in the
[5:31] Jordan here, works for Henry, Bill Jordan.
[5:36] He was over there with Cy Vance and her.
[5:41] He knows every detail of that.
[5:44] He's right here in Henry's office.
[5:47] He was there under Johnson.
[5:49] Henry got him from Texas.
[5:52] He went down with President Johnson.
[6:02] And nobody else would want to think about it.
[6:04] Now, Harriman was always dreaming up something.
[6:09] Christian says he is surprised that Cy Lance fell into this trap.
[6:12] He thinks that it is a trap.
[6:14] He thinks that Cy Lance got himself way out of the way.
[6:28] You know what?
[6:29] We have never done it.
[6:30] I understand.
[6:38] One thing that Johnson really ought to do is that he should recall that many trips I made were like, I was in Saigon, Vietnam, doing six nights in a trip.
[6:55] I always defended American policy.
[6:59] Always.
[6:59] Now, one thing is,
[7:07] the total retaliation of Lyndon Johnson.
[7:11] Because Becker was set off by the communists.
[7:14] And then they'll say, why did we lose those 35,000 Americans?
[7:15] The second fight is, I think that he did.
[7:18] He did.
[7:19] He did.
[7:19] At least he realized that the attack really is not on us.
[7:26] It's on him.
[7:26] Because Herod and Vance were gone when John Becker cried, right?
[7:30] We got rid of the bastards.
[7:31] So we got him.
[7:32] It sounded logical.
[7:39] to get really down to the point.
[7:42] I think if you can get Bill George on Henry's death, if you can get Bill Rogers and really search these files and get the CIA to be sure that there's no slip-up, that there can't be a leak, none of those and so forth.
[7:56] But I think this issue ought to be kept alive.
[8:00] Because I think through this one thing, you can destroy Shriver's credibility.
[8:08] Because it has to be followed up.
[8:09] It has to really be followed up.
[8:10] It has to be pursued.
[8:12] It has to be fed.
[8:13] And let's try to get all the mileage he can, hopefully out of it, if we're sure of what the facts are.
[8:19] The facts are that he did not want Hendricks over there.
[8:22] Now, why?
[8:22] Because he didn't trust him.
[8:25] And Johnson didn't trust him.
[8:27] And at some point, somebody has to say that.
[8:31] That's a question who can say it.
[8:32] But first, he didn't have any information.
[8:34] He didn't know what was going on.
[8:36] Second, he's got it.
[8:38] it's got to be made clear that he never communicated this to me.
[8:42] And in the process, I think, I heard on open sidelines, I don't know if you did, it looks to me like we have here an opportunity to really damn near destroy Shriver, and even if he doesn't give us another chance.
[9:02] So I think he must make a statement.
[9:06] I don't know where he would have felt it.
[9:07] He can't get here.
[9:08] They wouldn't have bought rust after that.
[9:10] Yeah, he ought to.
[9:12] But I think before it's done, I think somebody has to talk to Bill Jordan here.
[9:18] And Bill Rogers is to be sure that he didn't pull them all around.
[9:22] I'll put others around.
[9:27] I'll put this.