Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-053

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Monday, May 17, 1971 · 6:37 PM–7:29 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-053 on Tape 3 (tape position 01:03:03–01:03:12)StartMonday, May 17, 1971 at 6:37 PMEndMonday, May 17, 1971 at 7:29 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-053 ↗

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to place a telephone call to National Security Advisor Henry A. Kissinger. This brief administrative interaction served as a logistical step to facilitate direct communication between the President and his advisor. No further substantive discussion was recorded during this specific exchange.

Download MP3 · 0.1 MB

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

On May 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:37 pm and 7:29 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-053 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 003-053

Date: May 17, 1971
Time: Unknown between 6:37 pm and 7:29 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Call to Henry A. Kissinger
  • 003-054 7:29 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:29 pm to 7:30 pm.
  • 003-055 7:30 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:30 pm and 7:34 pm.
  • 003-056 7:34 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:34 pm.
  • 003-057 7:35 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 7:35 pm to 7:40 pm.

Conversation 003-053, May 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-053 (accessed September 28, 2026).