Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 11 › Conversation 011-022

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Kennedy Center and Presidential Protocol

Thursday, October 7, 1971 · 11:35 PM–11:44 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation011-022 on Tape 11 (tape position 00:33:53–00:36:49)StartThursday, October 7, 1971 at 11:35 PMEndThursday, October 7, 1971 at 11:44 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 011-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman debriefed on the President’s recent attendance at the Kennedy Center, focusing specifically on the protocol for his theatrical arrivals. They discussed the effectiveness of coordinating his entrance to coincide with the National Anthem or musical intervals to maximize impact. Additionally, they briefly touched upon the President’s recent company in the presidential box, acknowledging the political value of hosting figures like Alexander Haig.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 51% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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That was a furry thing he even put on there.
Right.
Really needs a lot of attention.
Well.
All right.
Very nice.
you know it's sure the right way for you to come into a theater is to do the announcement like that if there's any officer or anything at all that can do it come in either at the half time or after everybody's down that's right you should come in
Just as the Orgature's about to start, they're going to do the National Anthem, and they should be just ready to do it, and instead of starting yet, they should do well for as far as they should bring you in.
Right.
And then cut right to the National Anthem, and then start the concert.
Right.
If you come at the beginning, if you come in the middle somewhere, they should just do as you did tonight, pull the number in, and then have them announce it right here.
Right.
It's a big throw to the people that have to do it.
think it's good you know in another thing too it's good to do a thing like this oh i know that yeah
It means a lot to a fellow like Haig.
Was Haig sitting in your box?
Yeah.
Oh, that's great.
Great.
Right.
I wondered who was in your box.
Right.
Well, we probably did.
Yeah, I thought maybe Tom Moore or somebody on the general.
Well, it's the way to do it.
We probably had to get a hold of him.
Right.
Right.
Well, okay.
Okay.

NARA Description

On October 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:35 pm and 11:44 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 011-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 011-022

 Date: October 7, 1971
 Time: Unknown between 11:35 pm and 11:44 pm
 Location: White House Telephone

 The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

        The President's evening
             -The Kennedy Center

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

                    -Entrance to theater

        The President's schedule
             -Post-broadcast activity
                  -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                  -Adm. Thomas H. Moorer

Also recorded on October 8, 1971

  • 011-014 9:03 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:03 pm to 9:09 pm.
  • 011-015 9:09 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 9:09 pm to 9:11 pm.
  • 011-016 9:17 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:17 pm to 9:20 pm.
  • 011-017 9:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:20 pm and 9:40 pm.
  • 011-018 9:40 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William F. ("Billy") Graham talked on the telephone from 9:40 pm to 9:44 pm.
  • 011-019 9:44 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:44 pm and 9:52 pm.
  • 011-020 9:52 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:52 pm to 9:53 pm.
  • 011-021 9:53 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:53 pm and 11:35 pm.

All 28 conversations from October 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 011-022, October 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/011-022 (accessed October 23, 2026).