Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 215 › Conversation 215-003

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Campaign travel and New England

Tuesday, October 3, 1972 · 7:19 PM–7:23 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation215-003 on Tape 215StartTuesday, October 3, 1972 at 7:19 PMEndTuesday, October 3, 1972 at 7:23 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 215-003 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 651228670 ↗

President Nixon discussed upcoming campaign travel with his daughter, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, mentioning stops in Indianapolis and New England, and expressing confidence in Republican strength in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. He also strategized about media appearances, specifically avoiding giving an opponent equal television time.

  • Campaign travel
  • New England
  • Indianapolis
  • Media strategy
  • Television appearances
  • Republican strength

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

On October 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 7:19 pm to 7:23 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 215-003 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 215-3

Date: October 3, 1972
Time: 7:19 pm - 7:23 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

[See Conversation No. 146-2; one item has been withdrawn]

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.

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NixonOh, I guess, I'll step near there.
NixonNo, no, no. No, tomorrow, I meant, uh. You're going over to Indianapolis and then onto, uh,
Nixongoing to, uh, New England States. Everything's very good up there, we're very strong in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Still, it would be good to
Nixonuh, that'd be pretty good, yeah. Good.
NixonRight. Right. Uh-huh. Good.
NixonWhat kind, of speeches maybe or news, I don't know which, but, uh,
NixonNo, for the reason that if I do, uh, it gives him the same equal time on television, which he can't otherwise get. But I'll, so I want to give him, uh, if I do it, I'm going to do it so he doesn't get equal time, you see.
NixonWell, I had a conference, but not on television. See, if you have it on television, honey, then you get, then you have three networks and he gets three networks all at once, which gives him a big audience, so to hell with him. So, I'm going to do it, I'm on my own. I'll I'll find a way.
NixonWell, It's, uh, well, you know the old saying is, but, uh,
NixonI've been there, I usually, uh, always, uh- Are you going to speak before uh, are you going to? Well, that I, uh, that I've traditionally always, uh, did when I was Vice President, always open and pressed, opened the campaign in the great square there, in Indianapolis.
NixonAlso, speak very highly of Lugar, the Mayor, you know, one of outstanding mayors in the country. He's Second in nomination. And, uh, that, uh, Indiana is famous for its political traditions, and I always felt that, uh,
Nixonmy mother from Indiana, my father from Ohio, that was a good combination for anybody wanted to enter politics, and mine did.
NixonMaine? New Hampshire. You mention the primaries. This is our, this is always been our, a state that's always been very good to us, and, uh, and in fact, we know that probably it was the safety, because of that. Always came through.
NixonVermont, uh, you went to camp there, right? Wasn't that in Vermont? We went, you went to camp there and you have a special place in your heart for it, and it's uh, it's certainly [unintelligible]
Nixonone of the most beautiful states in the country. In Maine, we're fond of Kennebunkport for the beach. We also were up there that, at the Trylon Island once and, uh, we, uh, hope as Maine goes, so goes the nation. Yeah. Okay. I see.
NixonDidn't happen last time, but it will this time.
NixonOkay, sweet. Oh, it was great. It's 91.
Nixon91. That's great. I sure did.
NixonRight, and we just wish you the best, send you trips, dear. Bye. Bye.
  • 791-012 4:16 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:16 pm and 4:24 pm.
  • 791-013 4:24 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert P. Griffin, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:24 pm to 4:25 pm.
  • 791-014 4:26 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:26 pm to 4:28 pm.
  • 791-015 4:30 PM · 53 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 4:30 pm on October 3, 1972 and 11:05 am on October 5, 1972.
  • 146-001 6:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 215-001 6:00 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 215-002 6:00 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 7:19 pm.
  • 146-002 7:19 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone at Camp David from 7:19 pm to 7:23 pm.

Conversation 215-003, October 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 651228670). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/215-003 (accessed November 8, 2026).