Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 808 › Conversation 808-002

Nixon & Haldeman on Amnesty and Vietnam War

Friday, October 27, 1972 · 11:10 AM–11:16 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation808-002 on Tape 808StartFriday, October 27, 1972 at 11:10 AMEndFriday, October 27, 1972 at 11:16 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 808-002 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the political landscape regarding public opposition, specifically focusing on the intensity of anti-war sentiment among student demonstrators. The conversation centers on the controversy surrounding amnesty, with the President concluding that the general public strongly opposes the concept despite the advocacy of activist groups. They also touch upon broader cultural and political tensions, noting the hostile slogans and diverse grievances—ranging from environmental concerns to abortion—expressed by protesters at institutions like Harvard.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Whatever else they might be, I don't feel assured of that kind of thing.
I see why you can get any big amnesty thing, because nobody gives it to anybody.
Amnesty is something a lot of people oppose, I don't think anybody, the people that are for amnesty don't care that much about it, they just think it's a nice idea.
The unfortunate people do care, but that is the activist types, that's a different class of people.

NARA Description

On October 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:10 am to 11:16 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 808-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 808-2

Date: October 27, 1972
Time: 11:10 am - 11:16 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

        Harold Lee

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 57s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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

        Demonstrators

              -Nature of participants
                  -Jim Schurz's report on Harvard University demonstrators
                       -Vietnam War
                       -Slogans
                           -Draft
                           -Hatred of country, system, Administration
                       -Murder, assassination
                       -Environmental issues
                       -Homosexuality
                       -Amnesty
                       -Government secrecy
                       -Amnesty
                           -Public opinion
                       -Abortion
                           -Public opinion

Haldeman left at 11:16 am.

Also recorded on October 27, 1972

  • 032-072 9:55 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:55 am and 11:05 am.
  • 374-016 9:55 AM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:55 am to 11:08 am.
  • 808-001 11:08 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:08 am and 11:10 am.
  • 808-003 11:16 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:16 am.
  • 808-004 11:16 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:16 am.
  • 808-005 11:16 AM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Harold Lee, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:16 am to 11:41 am.
  • 808-006 11:41 AM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:41 am to 11:42 am.
  • 808-007 11:42 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the Committee on the Health Services Industry, including Barbara Dunn, J. Alexander McMahon, Samuel J. Tibbitts, and James W. Haviland, as well as Herbert Stein, Donald H. Rumsfeld, James H. Cavanaugh, the White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull, met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:42 am to 12:03 pm.

All 51 conversations from October 27, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 808-002, October 27, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/808-002 (accessed October 9, 2026).