H. R. Haldeman’s Notes
10/22/1968
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During a telephone call on the night of October 22, 1968, Presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon told his closest aide (and future chief of staff) H. R. Haldeman to "monkey wrench" President Johnson’s efforts to begin peace talks over the Vietnam War (see the second page of the notes). Nixon was campaigning on ending the Vietnam war and he thought a peace agreement might threaten his election.
Nixon long denied giving such an order, but Haldeman’s notes, which were quietly made public in 2007 and discovered by historian Jack Farrell in 2017, provide evidence of Nixon’s direct involvement.
The first page includes a notation to "keep Anna Chennault working on SVN" (South Vietnam). Nixon had sent Chennault as an emissary to tell President of South Vietnam Thieu, "Hold on, we are gonna win." The implication was clear: Thieu should not sign the peace agreement President Johnson was currently negotiating. When Nixon became President, he would negotiate a peace deal that left Thieu in a more powerful position.
Nixon long denied giving such an order, but Haldeman’s notes, which were quietly made public in 2007 and discovered by historian Jack Farrell in 2017, provide evidence of Nixon’s direct involvement.
The first page includes a notation to "keep Anna Chennault working on SVN" (South Vietnam). Nixon had sent Chennault as an emissary to tell President of South Vietnam Thieu, "Hold on, we are gonna win." The implication was clear: Thieu should not sign the peace agreement President Johnson was currently negotiating. When Nixon became President, he would negotiate a peace deal that left Thieu in a more powerful position.
Transcript
[top left corner] RN [Richard Nixon][crossed out in top right corner] R/W 2
file
10/22
late
Z [Possibly Ron Ziegler who became Nixon’s press secretary] - indicate tomorrow
Preparing & recording 2 radio speeches
Harlow [Bryce Harlow, a Republican strategist and Nixon aide] – Harlow monitoring V.Nam [Vietnam]
Fl – Andrews -if take a poll – inform us immy.
G’ [in red: done] Rhodes [John Rhodes, House Minority Leader] says we’ve dropped on older people – use radio for Soc Sec spot & a nspr [newspaper] ad – nail the lie
R+W – sit down w/ RW + Moore etc. – in terms of their thot [thought] on tempo & content
how do you want him to hit HH [Hubert Humphrey] – how hard?
F? maybe have to bite V.N.
! [illegible] – keep Anna Chennault working on SVN [South Vietnam] – insist [illegible] on the 3 Johnson [President Lyndon B. Johnson] conditions
Z [Ron Ziegler] say for Fri – doing 3 hrs of TV spots
Moore -et al - get a reading on how they thk [think] we’re doing
Harlow – be sure cc [copy] of defense goes to DDE [Dwight D. Eisenhower, former President] & to our defense types.
RW – how do you want him to hit HH [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] how hard shld [should] he go?
re: V.N. [Vietnam] bomb haltment:
Harlow – have Dirksen [Everett Dirksen, Senator from Illinois] & Tower [John Tower, Senator from Texas] blast this
Dirksen call LBJ [President Lyndon B. Johnson] and brace him w/ [with] this
-any other way to monkey wrench it?
Anything RN can do.
Rose [Rose Mary Woods, Richard Nixon’s personal secretary] – get her frd [?] Louie [illegible] – zing [?] on the SVN [South Vietnamese] – tell him hold firm
Dirksen – or someone
Rebozo [Charles “Bebe” Rebozo, Florida banker and businessman who was a friend and confidant of Richard Nixon] – have Smathers [George Smathers, Senator from Florida] threaten J [President Lyndon B. Johnson]
N [Richard Nixon] has learned staffers are dealing w/ H [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] & N [Richard Nixon] is going to blast him –
the bets are off & N [Richard Nixon] very disapptd [disappointed]
hard evidence W/house [White House] is giving H [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] stuff he’s not giving N [Richard Nixon]
will blast in major speech on V.N. [Vietnam] on Thurs –
10/22
file
[crossed out]
213-
277-2000
1739
-ABC confirming 2 hrs 8:30-10:30 Mon nite
says he’ll do telethon – now AT&T problem
-G just 1 & 5 min. very good
C – booking [illegible] 11:30 Fri AM
tape Congress radio spot –
NO? – Las Vegas prop stop – rec H. Baker [Howard Baker, Senator from Tennessee]
F – press conf – 2 today – re polls
extra – hard drive
Ray A [Possibly Ray Arbuthnot?] – workers told RN [Richard Nixon] – not working as hard as ’60 [1960 Presidential Campaign]
2
-ask him about Va. [Virginia]
– talk to Jack Kilpatrick [James J. Kilpatrick, newspaper columnist] (ch B)
column for Star – [illegible] paper
fnd of Buckley’s [William F. Buckley, author and commentator] –
give him honest shake on polls – outlook
-get Sun Times [Chicago Sun-Times newspaper] poll every day
B - [illegible] – can go three releases last couple days
pick out lines to be used in stump speech
Keo themes
– one theme for releases –
– harlow [Bryce Harlow] uncertain trumpet
miscalculation – can lead to wars
– most confused candidate in history
– go back to forgotten American theme
– admitted he can’t get the popular vote
can’t unite his party –
[top left] Add Harlow
– Harlow fly to V.N. [Vietname] – see Goodpaster [Andrew Goodpaster, U.S. Army General]
RN [Richard Nixon] sure military not for it.
– this might make SVN [South Vietnamese] govt. fall
– tomorrow RN [Richard Nixon] blandly say US shld [should] pause [underlined] under conditions J [President Lyndon B. Johnson] laid down in N Orleans [New Orleans]
ie go further than present position
if conditions are not met that J [President Lyndon B. Johnson] laid down then we would approve bomb pause
but H [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] is wrong in saying pause [underlined] period
to give away our trump card w/o getting this much would be bad
they’re selling out SVN [South Vietnam]– leave new admin to hdl [handle]
make a communist Asia –
wld [would] have to go into Thailand.
Bebe – N [Richard Nixon] mad as hell –
W House staffers (many) [written above: Clifford [Clark Clifford, Presidential advisor], Califano [Joseph A. Califano, Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson] & L. Thompson] are now talking to H [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] giving info they’re not giving N [Richard Nixon]
thot [thought] that at Al Smith dinner they had an understanding
now is going to blast LBJ [President Lyndon B. Johnson] – Thurs.
(Bebe – our private polls show we lead in every one of critical states.)
talking to H [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] & working w/ Ball [George Ball, Johnson presidential advisor who opposed escalation of the Vietnam war]
Har – Harlow [Bryce Harlow] – try Burke, Radford, Guenther
find out what’s going on
Les Arends [House Representative from Illinois] – Mel Laird [House Representative from Wisconsin and later Nixon’s Secretary of Defense]
have Dirksen call J [President Lyndon B. Johnson]
Har [Bryce Harlow]– Scranton [William Scranton, former Governor of Pennsylvania] call Vance [Cyrus Vance, former Deputy Secretary of Defense]
heard rumor – N [Richard Nixon] very distressed what’s going on
Har [Harlow] – tell Dirksen if don’t get 3 conditions N [Richard Nixon] will blast bomb halt
Agnew [Spiro T. Agnew, Nixon’s running mate and later Vice President] – go see Helms [Richard Helms, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency] –
tell him we want the truth – or he hasn’t got the job.
10/22
[crossed out] E/Chot.- Kl [Possibly Herb Klein, national communications manager for Nixon’s 1968 Presidential campaign] – Agnew hit on [underlined] popular vote –
[underlined] report mid day – Chot E etc have done
also surrogates –
who handling etc.
– gamesmanship on CBS – feel of our figures.
– Ck Minn. today – late polls?
FL– any results on phone operation
M-G – get G – up TV budget by another million because Dems tendency to blitz & they now have the $
G – be sure our spots are now effective
Moore strongly against W. Wallace
– have screening?
gut issues – hitting strong enuf [enough]
have to step up –
? raised $300M for one 5-min Dem spot
Chot-Kl [?] – in South – danger that H’s [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968] going to be Pres.
— [illegible] attack on popular vote
E – popular vote attack on HH [Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Presidential Candidate for 1968]
F – step up pollsmanship
1st step – local state chmn [chairman]– put out their [illegible] run optimism deal in terms of press
esp. Charlie [possibly Charles Colson, counsel to candidate Nixon’s Key Issues Committee, and later Special Counsel to President Nixon] – talking to press
– not much more for RN [Richard Nixon] to do
will hit hard – hope for the best
M – keep grinding – don’t let them let up.
put out some of [illegible] polls – as local polls
but as ORC [Opinion Research Corporation] poll – Missouri –
Klein [Herb Klein] – what papers talked to – [illegible] on book – etc.
report
– esp. concerned re G. & TV – feels not tough enuf. [enough]
P. Hitt [Patricia Reilly Hitt, longtime Nixon supporter and later Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare in the Nixon administration] – get reading on bumper strip day
Kl [Herb Klein] run something on what was done
– ride hard on Rhyne [possibly Charles Rhyne, a Nixon classmate at Duke University Law School] & P. Hitt –
get on people to get to work
Pat [possibly Patricia Hitt] skip mtgs [meetings] & stuff – just ride on our troops.
3
T
VC [?]– want to know today what ORC time lag is
– how far behind is report from field work
is this wave the last –
or do we get something next Thurs.
& need to know when the thing is through
Check Tex. & Minn.
This primary source comes from the Collection RN-RET: Richard M. Nixon's Returned Materials Collection.
National Archives Identifier: 26126861
Full Citation: H. R. Haldeman’s Notes; 10/22/1968; WHSF: Returned, 33-8; Returned White House Special Files, 1/1969 - 8/1974; Collection RN-RET: Richard M. Nixon's Returned Materials Collection; Richard Nixon Library, Yorba Linda, CA. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/haldemans-notes, April 28, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Analyzing U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War
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