Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 15 › Conversation 015-018

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Henry Kissinger

Thursday, November 18, 1971 · 8:01 PM ET · White House Telephone · 15 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation015-018 on Tape 15 (tape position 00:25:25–00:25:40)StartThursday, November 18, 1971 at 8:01 PMEndThursday, November 18, 1971 at 8:01 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 015-018 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417190881 ↗

A 15-second recording. What it contains is described by the archivists' log below; no AI summary is shown for recordings this short.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:01 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 015-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 15-18

Date: November 18, 1971
Time: 8:01 am
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

[See also Conversation No. 621-6]

     Henry A. Kissinger's schedule
          -Location

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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

Hello.
Mr. President, Mr. Dr. Kissinger is en route to Lunkin Airport in Cincinnati.
Did you want me to try to... Oh, I see.
That's right.
He's on it.
That's right.
No, no.
Don't bother him there.
I'll wait until he gets in.
All right, sir.

Also recorded on November 18, 1971

  • 015-046 5:57 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 5:57 pm to 5:58 pm.
  • 621-008 6:01 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:01 pm to 6:04 pm.
  • 015-047 6:04 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:04 pm and 6:56 pm.
  • 621-009 6:04 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:04 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 015-048 6:56 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 6:56 pm to 7:07 pm.
  • 015-050 7:16 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:16 pm to 7:23 pm.
  • 015-051 7:23 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:23 pm and 7:27 pm.
  • 015-052 7:27 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:27 pm to 7:40 pm.

All 70 conversations from November 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 015-018, November 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417190881). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/015-018 (accessed November 15, 2026).