Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-080

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on First Lady

Thursday, September 9, 1971 · 5:08 PM–5:11 PM ET · White House Telephone · 7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation008-080 on Tape 8 (tape position 02:56:33–02:56:40)StartThursday, September 9, 1971 at 5:08 PMEndThursday, September 9, 1971 at 5:11 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-080 ↗

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate a telephone call to the First Lady, Thelma C. “Pat” Nixon. This brief interaction served exclusively as a procedural request to establish a connection with his wife. No substantive political or policy matters were discussed during this brief exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Thank you, Mr. President.

On September 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 5:11 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-080 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 8-80

Date: September 9, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:08 pm and 5:11 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for call to Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
  • 568-009 3:58 PM · 1 hr 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 5:06 pm.
  • 568-010 4:05 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 5:06 pm.
  • 568-011 4:05 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 4:05 pm and 5:06 pm.
  • 568-012 4:05 PM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 6:00 pm.
  • 008-079 5:06 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 5:06 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 008-081 5:11 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 5:11 pm to 5:12 pm.
  • 008-082 5:12 PM · 22 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:12 pm and 6:01 pm.
  • 568-013 6:00 PM · 25 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 8:26 pm.

Conversation 008-080, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-080 (accessed October 9, 2026).