Nixon to Connally on gold: “that’s my conviction at least.”

Originally posted on Thursday, August 15th, 2013

January 26, 1972
White House Telephone

President Richard Nixon talks to his Secretary of the Treasury, John Connally, about the international monetary situation and the elimination of the Gold Standard for US currency. They specifically mention the Canadians (and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) and Europeans, as well as Nixon administration officials George Shultz, Herbert Klein, and Arthur Burns. Also, they talk about playing a little game with Henry Kissinger over aid to India

Official Portrait of Treasury Secretary Connally

Nixon:  “On the gold thing, you’re in charge of that and you just do what you think, on the timing, I know the game we’re playing. …

As I understand it, you’re going to push … the gold thing.”

Connally:  “We’re going on with the gold thing.  …”

Nixon:  “I just wanted you to know that George and I had a talk and we got Stein, George, and naturally I, we’re all lined up together, John.”

“Now the other point that George made to me which I think is somewhat reassuring George says that as long as we don’t have convertibility he says the Europeans can’t do all that much to us….”

Connally:  “They can’t.”

Nixon:  “Because when we have convertibility then they had a right to lecture us about what we ought to do but without convertibility that that is not the case and that we just shouldn’t get all that excited about the fact that they worry about our budget.  Is that your view?”

Connally: “That’s exactly right.  They can’t do one gaga thing….  They’ll say oh we’ve got to maintain our relations.  We’ve asked them to hold dollars.  And I said no we didn’t ask them to hold dollars it’s been in their interest to hold dollars.  And I said the hell with them, I’m not worried about them I’m worried about us.”

Nixon:  “That’s right.”

Connally: “You go through the same old thing again.”

Nixon:  “Well, we’re doing fine on it.  I think we should talk the fact that things are coming along, it sure takes time, Congress has a lot on its plate, we’re going to push the gold thing and the rest, and we’re going to get our trade and we’re going to do that and make the best out of whatever we get out of it.  I just wanted you to know that after the meeting that’s my conviction at least.”