Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-035

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Robert A. Taft Jr.

Friday, April 23, 1971 · 1:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 14 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation002-035 on Tape 2 (tape position 01:10:58–01:11:12)StartFriday, April 23, 1971 at 1:11 PMEndFriday, April 23, 1971 at 1:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-035 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to facilitate two specific communications while managing his schedule. He requested that the operator reach Senator Robert A. Taft, Jr. at his current location in Hot Springs and initiated a follow-up call to Herbert R. “Chief” Rainwater, the head of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). This brief exchange served as an administrative directive to coordinate these outreach efforts.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Mr. President, Senator Taft is in Hot Springs until Sunday evening.
I have a number.
May I reach him?
Yeah, you can reach him there.
And also, I'd like to talk to Mr. Rainwater, the head of the American VFW.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On April 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-35

Date: April 23, 1971
Time: 1:11 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 487-17]

     Robert A. Taft, Jr's location

     Call to Herbert R. (“Chief”) Rainwater

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       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on April 23, 1971

  • 487-015 12:52 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:52 pm to 1:04 pm.
  • 002-034 1:04 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:11 pm.
  • 487-016 1:04 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:11 pm.
  • 487-017 1:11 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 1:11 pm.
  • 487-018 1:11 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 1:17 pm.
  • 002-036 1:14 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:14 pm and 1:32 pm.
  • 487-019 1:17 PM · 33 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Chief Herbert R. Rainwater met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:17 pm to 1:51 pm.
  • 002-037 1:32 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Chief Herbert R. Rainwater talked on the telephone from 1:32 pm to 1:37 pm.

All 32 conversations from April 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-035, April 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-035 (accessed October 7, 2026).