What is your reaction to the Vice President’s [Spiro T. Agnew] trip?[note 1] Spiro T. Agnew was vice president of the United States, January 1969 to October 1973.

Well, John [A.] Scali talked to me after you called him in.[note 2] John A. Scali was an ABC News diplomatic correspondent, 1961 to April 1971; special consultant to the president, April 1971 to February 1973; and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, February 1973 to June 1975. [President Nixon acknowledges.] I think it was disastrously reported.

Yeah. He was really, really very hurt.

Oh, I’m sure he was.

He feels [unclear], and he’s been done in, and he’s just hurt as the devil.

Well, he should be. That Newsweek story [unclear]—

Vicious.

—was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.

That’s right.

Really. Just outrageous. I think it—I think the timing of it, in retrospect, it was probably too bad that he was traveling to—

At that time.

—what people think are insignificant countries.

Well, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t our fault. He wanted to go, you know?

Right.

It was his plan. He wanted to take a vacation, and that was it.

Well, I think that . . .

Well, it’ll work out.

I don’t think it hurts him with the constituency that he has.

No.

I really don’t.

Yeah, most of them are against what we’re doing anyway.

Well, in—

A lot of them are. A lot of them, not most.

In that sense, he’s kind of a—

[Unclear.]

—[unclear] of the right at the moment.

Right.

And, in that sense, helps him.

But he really got a bad, bad deal, and—

He got an awful bad rap.

And we’ve all got to make it clear to him that we think he did, and play that goal right down the line.

Well, I agree. And Scali . . . Scali thinks he did.

Well—

And Scali felt the trip could have been . . . well, as I indicated, the timing was unfortunate. I mean, it was just the way [President Nixon acknowledges throughout] that fate has it. But he really feels he got a bad rap, and I think we should start—we can . . . we’re looking for some places that we can get him in to where we’ll start rebuilding that.

[Unclear] get a place where he goes where he gets a good reception. I just think we ought to do that.

[Unclear.]

Where people cheer him. They will, you know?

Sure, they will.

I mean, we—it isn’t all that bad. I mean, let’s try to figure a place like that. And [Colson tries to interject] of course, the main thing is, if we do it, if we get him to go, he’s so tender about it at the moment.

I talked to an old-line Democrat, Italian politician from New England yesterday, who was just inflamed over the bad press that Agnew had had. Now, that’s just—

Good.

—one person—

Good.

—but his constituency expect him to be maltreated by the press, and they kind of sympathize with him.

Yeah, yeah.

But we’ll find some places where we can—

Well—

—build him up. We’re working on that.

Good. Well, and—

[Unclear]—

—and also, let him know, personally, that we are all backing him up, you know, ‘cause that’s very important.

I think it is for his state of mind.

That’s right. OK, well, have a nice dinner.

Fine. Thank you, Mr. President.