Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 936-003
Date: Monday, June 11, 1973 at 5:25 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/936-003

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Hi, officer.
[0:02] I'm having some session in two hours.
[0:07] All of them are getting freezed.
[0:09] Well, they were going to take this because I'm presented in a way that you're going to appreciate too.
[0:21] We've got this.
[0:24] Paul Hall and Frank Fitzsimmons said, you've got to do something, roll back the press or something, and they were both speaking as politicians.
[0:30] George H. said that he talked to a number of the Democrats that had voted for this other case and never had their second thoughts, which of course was...
[0:38] So I took a little air out of the balloon in regard to what I told George and the boys this morning.
[0:43] I met with George and got along with Simon afterwards.
[0:46] And George and I, they didn't ask me to deal.
[0:52] And I said, well, present the whole thing to me tomorrow when I see this whole package.
[1:03] The point is, George, we've just got to do something that is dramatic.
[1:09] I don't know.
[1:12] I don't know why.
[1:14] I never trust me.
[1:16] You know, jump, do whatever you do.
[1:19] Absolutely.
[1:20] Absolutely.
[1:21] But in terms of doing something dramatic, you've got to have the freedom to agree.
[1:26] You have no doubts?
[1:29] No, I haven't.
[1:31] And if you're going to do it, why not 60 rather than 30?
[1:34] I believe you're doing it to 60, and I believe you're having a little threat there that if labor gets out of hand, it's going to get the same thing.
[1:42] But you do it in a constructive, constructive way.
[1:49] And then, constitute with a follow-on in a way that zeroes in prior
[2:01] On the, and this is the one thing that I don't know whether they got, I know they're all talking about the industrial prices and huge bureaucracy.
[2:08] Concentrate on the food price problem.
[2:10] Concentrate on the food price problem.
[2:13] Doggone it, we've got to concentrate on that problem.
[2:15] That's just the heart of it.
[2:17] And the industrial prices will fool around here and there.
[2:20] But it was a good meeting.
[2:21] It was a good meeting to participate in.
[2:24] I took it for two hours.
[2:28] Well, I think that these men have
[2:32] You just don't find it hard to be irresponsible after you've talked to them.
[2:34] It really pays off to do that.
[2:36] Oh, I...
[2:36] It really is.
[2:37] No, no, it is the pain.
[2:39] Yeah, I've done many things.
[2:41] I delight in doing things, you know, like presenting to the world.
[2:44] That's what my time is for.
[2:46] Well, it's been a long, brutal session.
[2:49] Yeah.
[2:51] Now, I don't want to talk with Bryce, he just left.
[2:58] I don't want to talk with Richardson's man.
[3:02] who I know well enough, Cook, or Johnny Martin Moore, he's got the message, if there's any more trouble, it'll surprise me.
[3:09] What he's got is just a little embarrassing for us to pick up the paper and read some talk on it, or I don't know what.
[3:17] And Richard said he's got some discipline in the press, and I'm not going to have that.
[3:24] Well, I told him to do more action.
[3:26] He understands.
[3:31] Even on the ITT thing, he said that Elliot just made a hell of a mistake.
[3:36] I was pressed on this thing.
[3:38] Why don't we go ahead and re-touch that darkness over again?
[3:45] It was already accurate.
[3:49] They've been around the track of the dog on that.
[3:54] Eat a beer and all that nonsense while you go around the track on that thing again.
[3:58] Well, apparently Eastland's been arrested.
[4:00] He's never told me anything.
[4:02] So if he's supposed to, what he should do is to go talk to Eastland and sip a bourbon or scotch.
[4:09] Well, anyway.
[4:13] Well, I said, for God's sake, this is the last time I'm going to be surprised.
[4:16] I said, we can't do this.
[4:18] I said, hell, they don't like me as the president.
[4:20] Elliot's taking an admission.
[4:22] It's a vital report, Scott.
[4:24] I said, how do we know?
[4:25] Our press secretary didn't even have him.
[4:28] The question, though, I said, it's just not going to happen anyway.
[4:34] Now it's a way to end up in relationships, but, you know, they were all set to have no dealings with anybody in the White House.
[4:39] There'd be no more dealings, except they'd come from you directly to Elliot Richardson.
[4:44] And I said, ha, poor shit.
[4:45] Never mind, I couldn't talk to him.
[4:48] Well, let's take care of it.
[4:50] You're going to talk to him, is that right?
[4:52] Absolutely.
[4:52] I think you're the one rather than me.
[4:55] Let's keep this one out of our shop.
[4:58] Yeah, because this involves the counsel's office and the domestic side.
[5:03] We'll take care of it.
[5:06] Well, that's good.
[5:10] Now, on Bryce's case, he's been out of practice.
[5:12] They gave him another chance.
[5:17] And he said, it won't even be necessary for you to ask, but it would be great if you could tomorrow call him and thank him.
[5:29] Sure.
[5:29] Just to say thank you.
[5:31] Tomorrow or the day?
[5:35] Tomorrow.
[5:35] Tomorrow.
[5:35] All right.
[5:35] I'll do it.
[5:36] I'll do it.
[5:37] Now, the other thing is, he came in and he said, now I think this emergency that was involved in migrating to Cosgrove is different now than Nelson.
[5:42] And I said, that's not so.
[5:46] I know we know it isn't, but nevertheless, we can always use another great player.
[5:50] That's the point.
[5:50] It's like having Sonny Jurgensen.
[5:51] The other moment, right?
[5:53] I think he is.
[5:53] In fact, I said from my perspective, I don't know who the president is.
[5:57] I think it's even more important to get out and bounce on first.
[6:01] They should be here.
[6:04] Bounce on first.
[6:06] Also, take the vice president.
[6:08] We can just give that to him as one assignment program.
[6:12] Get that one out of your ear.
[6:13] I told him, George Bush.
[6:17] I think you can see Bush as much as Bush can feel.
[6:20] I'm trying to ensure that someone who does see the President is connected.
[6:23] Basically, Rice will be the political man at the White House.
[6:28] That's why I told him, we won't use that term.
[6:30] But that's, we're going to put all the political appendages under Rice.
[6:34] That's the, we're going to be operating with communicators, the minority group guy, the special interest group guy.
[6:42] All he wants to do is
[6:46] is to be asked one more time and to be sure that you feel what you want.
[6:52] And I don't know if I should ask you today or tomorrow.
[6:59] I think maybe we could do it either tomorrow or Thursday.
[7:03] I don't know.
[7:03] It doesn't have to be before you.
[7:07] That will help.
[7:08] All right.
[7:08] I'll call Proctor to the Apple and thank him and then call Bryce and say that I talked to him and I'm just glad he's coming forward and letting me announce it.
[7:15] Well, now, the announcement, I think the best time would be Saturday.
[7:20] And he wouldn't have to be here, but we're going to have the announcement, and we can try it again Sunday.
[7:25] Because there will be no other day this week that you'd want to do it, because tomorrow you're on Vietnam, Wednesday you're on the hotel Vietnam tomorrow, the hotel Vietnam.
[7:38] And then Thursday we don't have the energy ready.
[7:42] I talked to Payne.
[7:43] I think he's coming.
[7:48] I don't know.
[7:58] I don't know that it's right.
[8:18] Gosh, they'll all say it was opportunistic and the rest of the folks.
[8:22] There's no way that you could go another round or two of bad statistics having done nothing.
[8:31] And then there's no way that you could sell the present program that George has sold.
[8:37] George and Herb could not sell it.
[8:39] If we had Conley and Herb, he probably would have just talked it through with the present program.
[8:44] And we don't have Conley.
[8:45] So I think we go...
[8:49] That's the other thing.
[8:49] You've got to stand, you've got to platform around.
[8:53] And I really believe in the light of Watergate and that exercise of presidential power is quite important.
[9:05] You know?
[9:05] Yes, sir.
[9:05] And I can't, I don't mean it in terms of damaging Watergate or anything.
[9:17] Oh!
[9:17] Well, it is.
[9:19] We got a call from President McCain of Kansas State.
[9:50] and ask them to call me to tell you that Kansas is 100% behind you.
[9:59] To offer an impression about the area, see the University, you know, about Miracle, Great Leap Forward, and anything else.
[10:08] It's kind of wonderful to talk to you.
[10:15] I'll send it in.
[10:17] Talk about meeting with a group in Florida.
[10:21] And they're great.
[10:22] This is important for me.
[10:24] I like to see them.
[10:27] I don't really have such a part.
[10:29] I've just got to go through this thing.
[10:31] Boy, it was our children, my business wife, that got me sick and crazy.
[10:36] I didn't want to let them suffer.
[10:37] I just wanted to see what it was like with God.
[10:41] But God, most of the time, I sort of hate to see somebody pulling through my, you know, I go to things, you know, who's going to suffer, who's not going to suffer.
[10:49] Well, you know, you're right to bring it up.
[10:50] Stop it.
[10:50] The only reason for that, sir, is that that's one of the things being a legendary hand.
[10:57] There's nothing damaging it.
[10:59] Nothing.
[11:01] It's only selected through.
[11:06] I don't know.
[11:08] I don't know.
[11:10] I don't know.
[11:11] I don't know.
[11:12] I don't know.
[11:13] I don't know.
[11:15] I don't know.
[11:20] You know, there's a couple of political things.
[11:21] I get the line out on this, and he's right.
[11:24] My cell phone, he said the right thing in the newspaper.
[11:27] He said, there's nothing that you could be at least embarrassed by.
[11:32] Nothing.
[11:33] And I would let you see him.
[11:34] I did it for...
[11:36] I went through my... You understand, Al, whatever his pressures are and so forth, I don't want him going through my other bodies.
[11:44] I know.
[11:44] I just can't have it.
[11:46] I cannot break that down because...
[11:52] He knows that.
[11:52] I told him that I wouldn't consider being able to do it, that there's no way that anybody can do it, and that it's just going to be held as a sacred trust, and that's it.
[12:09] And I said, it never should be raised again.
[12:14] So they're not thinking in terms of breaking a line on that.
[12:18] If they are, it's
[12:21] It's seemingly impossible to convince him.
[12:25] Where are you going tonight?
[12:27] No question.
[12:28] How about another boat ride?
[12:29] Would you like that?
[12:31] Oh, I can... No, I... Do you have a...
[12:33] I have a... Oh, good.
[12:33] I have a... No, no.
[12:34] I...
[12:34] I...
[12:34] I...
[12:34] I... We've been... We've been... We're actually good.
[12:44] I'll tell you what I've been doing.
[12:46] I have an outside call for dinner.
[12:48] I postponed it twice.
[12:49] Great.
[12:49] So...
[12:51] He's letting off some good stuff, and I like to keep him at work.
[12:54] Well, the whole dean of business is just insistence.
[12:56] Because, frankly, we didn't know what he's got.
[13:00] He's, of course, he's put out, he's putting on virtually everything he knew about files and so forth.
[13:06] He's doing a terribly disruptive thing.
[13:08] It's unbelievable how that man could walk the streets after this.
[13:12] He could never be the client again.
[13:14] Never.
[13:16] Oh, he should.
[13:19] He should.
[13:20] But he's now, frankly...
[13:22] He's got a jam, that's what he's doing.
[13:24] Yep.
[13:26] And he's still in the room, and he's still hanging out in the room.
[13:31] I'm sure.
[13:31] I don't fucking get it.
[13:32] He gets it, he gets it.
[13:34] He has it all true.
[13:37] Or he gets it.
[13:38] I don't know.
[13:39] He'll get it.
[13:42] Pretty late in the game.
[13:44] So then they get it to him now.
[13:49] I wouldn't be, uh, shocked by it if it did, Ellis.
[13:51] We've expected that.
[13:52] Sure.
[13:53] And we've weathered that.
[13:55] But it's harder than it'll be harder, because he'll... get up there and he'll be... three, four days of birds and geese, and then he'd say that...
[14:05] Yes, Mr. Chairman.
[14:06] Yes, Mr. Chairman.
[14:10] I have no support, Mr. Chairman.
[14:22] That would be the biggest fizzle that we've seen.
[14:26] I think it would be a fizzle.
[14:31] Well, fizzle or not, we don't care.
[14:36] We just gotta keep fighting the good fight, that's all.
[14:40] We're doing it.
[14:41] That's what the country is.
[14:51] You know, it's funny.
[14:52] I haven't talked to anybody in the last week, minute, or two.
[14:58] And on the first week here, my God, all I heard was calamity at this, calamity at the other.
[15:03] It's kind of a big hit, but I'm considering it.
[15:05] It'll rip up again.
[15:06] It'll rip up a little bit.
[15:10] Maybe the same way.
[15:12] You don't think so, Bruce?
[15:13] No.
[15:13] You know what?
[15:18] The shocking revelation has come.
[15:21] It's the charge of the president.
[15:23] President told me to pay off this commitment.
[15:28] Told me to raise as many dollars as I could.