Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 12 › Conversation 012-021

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Supreme Court and George H. W. Bush

Wednesday, October 20, 1971 · 6:08 PM–6:09 PM ET · White House Telephone · 16 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation012-021 on Tape 12 (tape position 00:38:36–00:38:53)StartWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:08 PMEndWednesday, October 20, 1971 at 6:09 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 012-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directed H. R. Haldeman to reschedule a meeting with George H. W. Bush to accommodate preparation time for an upcoming public announcement. The President needed to finalize remarks regarding a pending Supreme Court nomination. Haldeman agreed to move the appointment to Friday to ensure the President had sufficient time for his statement.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Yes, sir.
You'll have to change the Bush meeting in view of this because I'll need that time to prepare these remarks.
Okay.
Tomorrow afternoon, so just put it off to Friday if you can.
All right.
Fine.
Okay.
Do it.

NARA Description

On October 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:08 pm to 6:09 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 012-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 12-21

Date: October 20, 1971
Time: 6:08 pm- 6:09 pm
Location: White House Telephone

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

[See Conversation No. 282-36]

     The President's schedule
          -Forthcoming Presidential announcement
               -Supreme Court nomination
          -George H. W. Bush

Also recorded on October 20, 1971

  • 012-019 6:05 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard A. Moore talked on the telephone from 6:05 pm to 6:07 pm.
  • 012-020 6:08 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 6:08 pm.
  • 282-036 6:08 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:08 pm to 6:09 pm.
  • 012-022 6:09 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:09 pm and 6:10 pm.
  • 282-037 6:09 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:10 pm.
  • 012-023 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.
  • 282-038 6:10 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:10 pm.
  • 282-039 6:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:10 pm to 6:11 pm.

All 83 conversations from October 20, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 012-021, October 20, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/012-021 (accessed September 28, 2026).