Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 14 › Conversation 014-106

Nixon phone call with Baker on birthday and personal relations

Monday, November 15, 1971 · 2:20 PM–2:21 PM ET · White House Telephone · 34 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Baker, Howard H., Jr.Conversation014-106 on Tape 14 (tape position 03:21:11–03:21:45)StartMonday, November 15, 1971 at 2:20 PMEndMonday, November 15, 1971 at 2:21 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 014-106 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417190743 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated this brief telephone call to Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. primarily to extend personal birthday greetings. The conversation remained cordial and informal, focusing on lighthearted exchanges regarding aging and Baker’s status as a young statesman. No substantive policy matters or political actions were addressed during the interaction.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 15, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Howard H. Baker, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:20 pm to 2:21 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 014-106 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 14-106

Date: November 15, 1971
Time: 2:20 pm - 2:21 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Howard H. Baker, Jr.

The President talked with Baker.

[See Conversation No. 617-10A]

     Baker's birthday

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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Senator Baker, sir.
Yeah.
On the line.
Hello.
Hello.
Not here to ask you for a vote or anything, but I can't let a young man get old without telling you so.
And don't you get any older.
Oh, I wish I could stop it, but the only alternatives are far too dismal.
Yeah, you look fine.
That's right, that's right.
The alternatives are dismal.
Well, I'm glad, Howard, to see you as one of our younger statesmen who's all this and that, and you go home tonight and take it easy, okay?
You're awful thoughtful to call.
I really appreciate it.
Okay, bye.
All right, sir.
Thank you.

Also recorded on November 15, 1971

  • 618-027 1:16 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:53 pm.
  • 618-032 1:53 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Dr. C. Jackson ("Dan") Grayson, Jr., George H. Boldt, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Stephen B. Bull, White House photographer, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:53 pm to 2:02 pm.
  • 618-033 2:02 PM · 2 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:02 pm and 2:13 pm.
  • 014-105 2:13 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:19 pm.
  • 618-034 2:13 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:19 pm.
  • 618-035 2:13 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:19 pm.
  • 618-036 2:13 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:19 pm.
  • 618-037 2:13 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 2:19 pm.

All 62 conversations from November 15, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 014-106, November 15, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417190743). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/014-106 (accessed November 15, 2026).