HORRIFYING

Ronald Reagan Calls African UN Delegates ‘Monkeys’ in Unearthed Recording

“To see those, those monkeys from those African countries—damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!” Reagan said in a 1971 chat with Nixon.

In a newly unearthed recording of an October 1971 phone call between then–California Governor Ronald Reagan and President Richard Nixon, Reagan referred to African delegates from the United Nations as ‘monkeys,’ The Atlantic reports. The call is said to have occurred the day after the United Nations voted to recognize the People’s Republic of China and some African delegates had sided against the United States. “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries—damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!” Reagan said, and Nixon laughed. The conversation was taped by Nixon and became the responsibility of the Nixon Presidential Library. When the tape was originally released in 2000, the racist portion was withheld to protect Reagan’s privacy. But last year, long after Reagan's 2004 death, Tim Naftali, who served as the director of the Nixon Presidential Library, requested a review of the Nixon tapes. The National Archives released the complete versions earlier this month.