Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-184

Nixon, Woods & Haldeman on Presidential speeches

Friday, May 28, 1971 · 5:51 PM–5:52 PM ET · White House Telephone · 49 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation003-184 on Tape 3 (tape position 04:32:50–04:33:39)StartFriday, May 28, 1971 at 5:51 PMEndFriday, May 28, 1971 at 5:52 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-184 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed Rose Mary Woods to inform his speechwriting staff, including John K. Andrews, Jr. and Raymond K. Price, Jr., that the final draft of his speech was approved and they could conclude their work for the evening. He also directed Woods to coordinate with Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler regarding the distribution of the text to the press, granting authorization for an advance release to news magazines if desired. Finally, the President requested that Woods prepare a clean reading copy of the document for his personal use.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
Yeah.
On that, I forgot to tell you, would you tell Andrews or Ray Price, call him and tell him that I've approved a final draft and we're all finished.
They won't need to hang around the night.
All right.
Would you call Ziegler and tell him that the draft will be ready for his giving out to the press in the morning if he wants?
All right.
He can...
I mean, if he has somebody that he very much would like to give it out, you know, to have an advance, he can have it tonight, you see.
Like the news magazines.
Okay.
If he wants.
So you tell him, okay.
All right.
And all you do is to just type me a reading copy, and that's all I need from you.
All right.
All right.
Fine.

NARA Description

On May 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:51 pm to 5:52 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-184 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-184

Date: May 28, 1971

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

Time: 5:51 pm - 5:52 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods; H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman can be heard in the
background.

[See Conversation No. 506-013B]

     President's speech
          -Final draft
                 -John K. Andrews, Jr.
                 -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
                 -Ronald Ziegler
                      -Distribution to press
                            -Possible advance release to news magazines
                 -Reading copy

Also recorded on May 28, 1971

  • 003-181 3:48 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:48 pm and 4:51 pm.
  • 003-182 4:51 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 4:51 pm to 4:52 pm.
  • 506-011 5:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 506-012 5:10 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:10 pm to 5:12 pm.
  • 506-013 5:27 PM · 1 hr 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John N. Mitchell, White House operator, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:27 pm to 6:50 pm.
  • 003-183 5:45 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:45 pm and 5:51 pm.
  • 003-185 6:50 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 8:11 pm.
  • 506-014 6:50 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:50 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 28, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-184, May 28, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-184 (accessed September 26, 2026).