Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-056

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Pandas and National Zoo

Monday, March 13, 1972 · 5:11 PM–5:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation021-056 on Tape 21 (tape position 02:07:00–02:08:26)StartMonday, March 13, 1972 at 5:11 PMEndMonday, March 13, 1972 at 5:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 021-056 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 646310112 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon called his wife, Pat, to inform her that the pandas would be sent to the Washington Zoo and that Constance Stuart's office had been notified. They discussed the pandas' arrival around April 1st, Pat's potential visit to see their habitat, and the excitement surrounding the pandas, even among children. The President also informed Pat that he would be staying late to work on a busing statement with John Ehrlichman and Edward Morgan, and would not be home for dinner.

Pandas
National Zoo
Washington D.C.
Constance Stuart
Marina Whitman
Council of Economic Advisers
Busing
John Ehrlichman

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.3 MB

This clip of the conversation was cut from the tape by the National Archives (catalog record ↗).

Listen to the full tape segment it comes from

Position in tape (archivists' log): 02:07:00 – 02:08:26

part B, 3:39

021a.mp3

021c.mp3

NARA Description

On March 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:11 pm to 5:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-056 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 21-56

Date: March 13, 1972
Time: 5:11 pm - 5:12 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon.

[See Conversation No. 683-20/684-1C]

     Pandas
          -Call to Constance M. Stuart
          -National Zoo
          -Climate
          -The President and Mrs. Nixon
          -Arrival
                -Mrs. Nixon’s possible appearance
          -Possible story
          -Swearing-in ceremony of Marina von N. Whitman
                -Council of Economic Advisors [CEA]
                -Children’s reaction

     The President’s schedule
          -Busing
               -John D. Ehrlichman and Edward L. Morgan

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference from the voices and the participant list. Words and names can still be wrong — verify against the audio and the finding aid before citing.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

NixonOh.

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonYeah. Hi, Dick.

NixonI just wanted to be sure you knew that uh we called Connie's office and told her that uh it'd be fine when we announce it that uh We announced today that the pandas would go to the Washington

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonYeah, I got the word.

Nixonthis place. And I think it's fine. Everybody was pleased with it, and uh the weather's good here. It's so Not quite as cold as it probably ought to- it could be, you know, but it's, but they can live in this kind of weather. And so, it's a good story, and we said that uh you and I both had uh had uh had we had decided that should come here.

NixonOne thought that we thought was very good and when they get here, we don't know when it is, but around the first of April, if you're here, it'd be awfully nice if you'd go out, you know, [crosstalk] and look

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonOh, yeah. I'd like to.

Nixonand uh Well, to see whether they are in the same kind of habitat basically, and you know, and uh it's- it'll be it's it's going to be a hell of a story. When I s- swore in uh Marina Whitman today, you know, the new member of the Council of Economic Advisers, I Her two children were here. And mind you, they were bug-eyed, and I told them about the pandas. They all want to go out and see the pandas. I said, "Well, they'll be out in April 1st." So, that's a big story.

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonYeah.

NixonAnd uh so, fine. Fine. Okay. Uh I'm going to be I'm going to stay here tonight to work with Ehrlichman and uh and uh Ed Morgan on the busing statement, so I won't be over for dinner, so you can get something there on the TV, or something, or

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonSure.

Nixonanything you like.

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonOkay.

NixonOkay. Good. I'll have Manolo come over and pick it up. Okay. Bye.

Thelma C. ("Pat") NixonOkay. Bye.

Also recorded on March 13, 1972

684-002 6:03 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:05 pm.
684-003 6:03 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:05 pm.
323-008 6:05 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:05 pm and 6:07 pm.
021-057 6:07 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:07 pm to 6:08 pm.
323-009 6:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:07 pm to 6:08 pm.
021-058 6:12 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 6:12 pm to 6:17 pm.
323-010 6:12 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:12 pm to 6:17 pm.
021-059 6:17 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:17 pm and 6:22 pm.

All 56 conversations from March 13, 1972 →

Nixon, Haldeman & Bull on Foreign policy and Busing March 21, 1972 · 10 min
Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Birthday and Press coverage January 9, 1973 · 2 min
Nixon & Bull on Wage-price controls and John Connally March 10, 1972 · 4 min
Nixon & Ziegler on White House press corps and Public education April 19, 1972 · 2 min
Nixon, Washington & Wilson on Crime Statistics and Major League Baseball October 13, 1971 · 56 min
Nixon phone call with Milliken on Busing and Moratorium legislation June 15, 1972 · 8 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 021-056, March 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 646310112). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-056 (accessed November 5, 2026).