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In 1971, Ronald Reagan, then the governor of California, made racist remarks in a phone conversation with former President Richard Nixon as he denigrated UN delegates who sided against the US in a vote to recognize the People's Republic of China.
"Last night, I tell you, to watch that thing on television as I did," Reagan said in newly unearthed tapes published by The Atlantic.
Nixon replied, "Yeah."
And Reagan went on to say, "To see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!"
That comment, which was excised from the tape when it was originally released in 2000, prompted laughter from Nixon.
Reagan was enraged that members of the Tanzanian delegation began dancing in the General Assembly after a vote to seat a delegation from Beijing instead of Taiwan.
Tim Naftali, a clinical associate professor of history at New York University, is behind the release of the exchange, which was recorded by Nixon.