Tapes of 1971 Nixon talks with 'pompous' Trudeau released today

A taped conversation that led former U.S. president Richard Nixon to call then prime minister Pierre Trudeau a "pompous egghead" has been released publicly.

The two-hour discussion that took place on Dec. 6, 1971, in the Oval Office is believed to be the only exchange between the two leaders captured on the infamous Nixon recording system.

The recording, parts of which are scratchy and inaudible, was found among 200 hours of tapes and 90,000 pages of documents recently released by the Nixon Library.

In the recording, Nixon is heard asking his aides for guidance on how to "lead" that "son-of-a-bitch" Trudeau before the meeting begins.

At times during the conversation, Nixon seems to grapple to articulate his administration's intentions when it comes to trade relations with Canada and then security adviser Henry Kissinger occasionally weighs in to provide the Canadian prime minister with more details.

Nixon also demonstrates some paranoia, telling Trudeau that other countries are "ganging up" on the United States on trade issues.

Trudeau then lectures Nixon on economics related to the Americans' controversial shift toward more protectionist practices against its trading partners, including Canada.

"If you're going to be protectionist, let's be in it together," Trudeau tells Nixon. "I am not a nationalist. I am not a protectionist ... If you were going to take a very protectionist trend, our whole economy is so importantly tied to yours, we'd have to make some very fundamental decisions."

A scratchy, long-lost recording reveals a rambling Richard Nixon struggling to discuss trade issues in the Oval Office with a wily and eloquent Pierre Trudeau, someone the president had referred to hours earlier as a "son of a -----."

The two-hour conversation is believed to be the only discussion between the two men captured on the infamous Nixon recording system -- and the storied chat that later prompted the sputtering president to call Trudeau names, including a "pompous egghead."

Indeed, Trudeau serves up a miniature lecture on economics to the president throughout a discussion about the Nixon administration's controversial shift towards more protectionist practices against its trading partners, including Canada, which was previously exempt from some punitive American tariffs.