Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 15 › Conversation 015-078

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Sunday, November 21, 1971 · 7:14 PM–7:18 PM ET · White House Telephone · 17 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation015-078 on Tape 15 (tape position 02:28:30–02:28:47)StartSunday, November 21, 1971 at 7:14 PMEndSunday, November 21, 1971 at 7:18 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 015-078 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to coordinate a secure connection with Henry Kissinger, who was currently located in New York. The President sought to establish contact with his National Security Advisor, prompting the operator to initiate the call using available reach-back numbers. This brief exchange served solely as an administrative coordination effort to facilitate a high-level policy discussion.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Hello.
Dr. Kissinger is in New York.
Do you want me to go ahead and reach him in New York?
I do have some numbers to try.
All right, no trouble at all.

NARA Description

On November 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:14 pm and 7:18 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-078 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 15-78

Date: November 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:14 pm and 7:18 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Henry A. Kissinger
          -Location

Also recorded on November 22, 1971

  • 015-077 7:14 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:14 pm.
  • 015-079 7:14 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:14 pm and 7:18 pm.
  • 015-080 7:18 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 7:18 pm to 7:35 pm.
  • 015-081 8:08 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:08 am and 8:20 am.
  • 621-032 8:08 AM · 59 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:08 am and 8:20 am.
  • 621-033 8:08 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:08 am and 8:20 am.
  • 621-034 8:08 AM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:08 am and 8:20 am.
  • 621-035 8:08 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:08 am and 8:20 am.

All 62 conversations from November 22, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 015-078, November 22, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-078 (accessed September 18, 2026).