Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-153

Nixon, Eisenhower & Bull on 1973 Inauguration and Oral history

Friday, January 12, 1973 · 11:43 AM–11:49 AM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie Nixon; Bull, Stephen B.Conversation035-153 on Tape 35StartFriday, January 12, 1973 at 11:43 AMEndFriday, January 12, 1973 at 11:49 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-153 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon speaks with his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, to discuss logistics for his upcoming Florida trip and final preparations for his 1973 second-term inauguration. During the call, the President encourages Julie to maintain an oral diary using her new Dictaphone, emphasizing that personal anecdotes and daily observations are historically valuable. Additionally, the President coordinates scheduling with Stephen B. Bull regarding a potential appearance at a Chinese cultural event and confirms his itinerary for the inaugural week.

Audio

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NARA Description

On January 12, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 11:43 am to 11:49 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-153 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-153

Date: January 12, 1973
Time: 11:43 am - 11:49 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

Stephen B. Bull can be heard in the background.

[See Conversation No. 396-5A]

*****************************************************************
[Begin segment reviewed under deed of gift]

        Conversation with Stephen B. Bull

        The President’s schedule
             -Trip to Florida
             -Executive Office Building [EOB]
             -Clothing
             -1973 Inaugural speech

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1A
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 57s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1A
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                -Chinese reception
                     -Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe

        Julie’s Dictaphone
                                                      -128-

                       NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                           Conversation No. 35-153 (cont’d)

                -Rose Mary Woods
                -Use
                -Advantages
                     -Jenny
Show the rest of the log (38 more lines)
                          -Anecdotal details
                          -Big news
                                -Birthday party
                          -Iowa
                                -White House
                          -Oral diary
                                -Transcription
                                -[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
                                -Importance
                          -Publication

        Weather
             -Florida
             -Camp David

        The President’s second term
             -1973 Inaugural
                   -Speech
                   -Activities
                   -Republican National Committee [RNC]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1B
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 23s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1B
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                -Next four years

[End segment reviewed under deed of gift]
*****************************************************************
                                             -129-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

[There is no Conversation No. 35-154]

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.

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Oh.
Daddy?
Yeah.
You getting all ready for your little trip?
Let me call you and talk about it, and I'll let you know later, yeah.
I'm talking to Steve.
Oh.
I'll call you about it, Steve, in about 15, 20 minutes.
Yeah, what's that, honey?
I used to say, you getting ready for your little trip?
Yeah, yeah, I'm working here in the EOB, getting a lot of things done.
I got my...
I tried on my club coat and everything fits fine.
Oh, good.
I'm all set for the inauguration.
Got my ties and everything.
And there's a lot of odds and ends.
They're coming along very well.
Good.
And I'm going to check now.
I'm checking my schedule to see if I can get over there for a few minutes to the Chinese thing.
You think it's a good idea?
Be nice, but, you know.
Not absolutely essential.
Yeah, but if you can, be nice.
I'm glad your machine's working all right.
If you have any problems with it, why, be sure and ask Rose or somebody.
You know, it's very simple.
Yeah, it is simple.
It's not complicated at all.
Once you get the knack of it, and then you just say it and go through about nine or ten minutes and take it off and
and file, don't have it transcribed.
Just say, I'll file this, and then years later we might want to take a look and see what the heck you did.
But remember, too, that even the small incidents, as a matter of fact, I should say even more so, I do a lot of reading of history and so forth.
Well, take the book Jenny, and you'll find that what people are interested in are, I mean, who ate what, and who looked a little, you know, purple, and so forth.
They really do.
They love it.
They love it.
You're a good observer, and you can point that out.
I mean, the idea that you always have to simply report the big news, you know, like the birthday party was sort of a big story to write, but there are things that you do and see, the people you see, and if you see some kid from Iowa that was getting a thrill out of the house, and just the little things.
Some days you won't have much, and other days you'll have a great deal.
But I do think that you're just sort of starting to keep an oral diary, which you don't transcribe,
just put it down and put it down will be a great idea and and your thoughts about anything you know you can uh talk you know about how you're getting along and the house thing is working and you're pleased with this and you heard from david and a letter and in other words make it truly a diary because i just know that a diary of somebody of any kind of importance is enormously
It's a good thing to have, and you may never use it.
You may decide, oh, heck, I don't want to do it.
But then someday you just may decide, well, I'd like to write something.
And then you have some stuff to flesh out, the papers and the summaries and everything else, you see.
Right.
That's really true.
Uh-huh.
That's right.
That was fine.
Do you think there'll be nice weather down there?
I hope so.
You know, I never guess anymore on a darn place.
Some days you go down there and they say it's going to be good and it's cold, and other days you go down and it's going to be bad and it's sunny.
So we hope so, and if it isn't, I'll work there, of course, for two or three days anyway and then come back here.
Right.
If it's bad, then I'll go from here right to Camp David and finish my inaugural.
I've got to finish it by Thursday, of course, because we have the big events Friday and Saturday and Sunday.
We really are doing an excellent job on the inaugural.
I was talking with people about the plans, you know, we're
I mean, we're going to go to all the balls and all the concerts, and we're going to have the church service, and I'm going to have a reception for the family and a reception for the National Committee on Sunday.
So, in other words, everybody who's here will feel that he's gotten some very special attention.
Oh, I think it'll be great.
And that's what we will do.
Everybody should be up for it.
And, uh, mm-hmm.
So I'm getting that.
Mm-hmm.
That's good.
That's good.
And once the inaugural's over, then we start the next four years, right?
Right.
I think I'm all for it.
Four more years.
Okay, honey.
Thank you.
Okay.
Bye.

Also recorded on January 12, 1973

  • 035-152 11:25 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:25 am and 11:43 am.
  • 396-002 11:25 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Zosimo Monson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:25 am and 11:43 am.
  • 396-003 11:25 AM · 7 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 11:25 am and 11:43 am.
  • 396-004 11:25 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:25 am and 11:43 am.
  • 396-005 11:25 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:25 am and 11:49 am.
  • 035-109 11:50 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:50 am.
  • 396-006 11:50 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 11:50 am.
  • 396-007 11:55 AM · 2 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Raymond K. Price, Jr., and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:55 am to 1:55 pm.

All 26 conversations from January 12, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-153, January 12, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/035-153 (accessed October 29, 2026).