Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-197

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Personal correspondence

Monday, May 31, 1971 · 5:38 PM–5:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-197 on Tape 3 (tape position 04:42:05–04:42:13)StartMonday, May 31, 1971 at 5:38 PMEndMonday, May 31, 1971 at 5:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-197 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to request a telephone connection with First Lady Thelma C. "Pat" Nixon. The brief exchange served as a logistical bridge to facilitate a personal conversation between the President and his wife. No substantive policy matters or administrative decisions were addressed during this call.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Ah, Mrs. Nixon, please.
Thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:38 pm and 5:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-197 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-197

Date: May 31, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:38 pm and 5:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 254-014]

     Call to Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

Also recorded on May 31, 1971

  • 003-196 5:38 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:38 pm.
  • 254-014 5:38 PM · 4 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 5:38 pm and 5:43 pm.
  • 003-198 5:43 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:43 pm to 5:44 pm.
  • 254-015 5:43 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:43 pm to 5:44 pm.
  • 003-199 5:45 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 5:45 pm to 6:06 pm.
  • 254-016 5:45 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:45 pm to 6:06 pm.
  • 003-200 6:06 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:06 pm and 6:15 pm.
  • 254-017 6:06 PM · 4 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 6:06 pm and 6:15 pm.

All 50 conversations from May 31, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-197, May 31, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-197 (accessed October 12, 2026).