Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-198

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on First Lady

Monday, May 31, 1971 · 5:43 PM–5:44 PM ET · White House Telephone · 48 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation003-198 on Tape 3 (tape position 04:42:13–04:43:01)StartMonday, May 31, 1971 at 5:43 PMEndMonday, May 31, 1971 at 5:44 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-198 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417188633 ↗

President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon engaged in a brief, informal telephone exchange. The conversation served as a personal check-in between the couple, lacking any discussion of official policy or administrative matters. No significant decisions were made during the brief interaction.

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On May 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:43 pm to 5:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-198 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 003-198

Date: May 31, 1971
Time: 5:43 pm - 5:44 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon.

[See Conversation No. 254-015]

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 10/25/2017.
34s segment cleared for release. 14s remain closed as 003-198-w001.]
[Personal Returnable]
[003-198-w001]
[Duration: 34s]

     President’s schedule
           -Dinner time

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[003-198-w001]
[Duration: 45s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     President’s schedule
           -Work
           -Dinner
                -Manolo Sanchez

**********************************************************************

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

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Thank you.
  • 003-196 5:38 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:38 pm.
  • 003-197 5:38 PM · 7 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Conversation 003-198, May 31, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417188633). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-198 (accessed November 2, 2026).