Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-023

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Donald Rumsfeld

Friday, December 24, 1971 · 4:39 PM–4:41 PM ET · White House Telephone · 4 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation017-023 on Tape 17 (tape position 01:10:50–01:10:56)StartFriday, December 24, 1971 at 4:39 PMEndFriday, December 24, 1971 at 4:41 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-023 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to initiate a telephone call to Donald Rumsfeld. This brief administrative interaction served as a logistical step to facilitate direct communication between the President and his advisor. No policy matters or substantive discussions occurred during this exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.1 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 please.
Mr. Rumsfeld please.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:39 pm and 4:41 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-023 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-23

Date: December 24, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:39 pm and 4:41 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Donald H. Rumsfeld

Also recorded on December 24, 1971

  • 643-002 4:20 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:20 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 643-016 4:28 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:28 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 017-022 4:34 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Edward C. Nixon, and Gaye Lynne (Woods) Nixon talked on the telephone from 4:34 pm to 4:39 pm.
  • 017-024 4:41 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld talked on the telephone from 4:41 pm to 4:55 pm.
  • 017-025 4:55 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 4:57 pm.
  • 017-026 4:57 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:57 pm.
  • 017-027 4:57 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:01 pm.
  • 017-028 5:01 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 5:01 pm to 5:08 pm.

All 54 conversations from December 24, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-023, December 24, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-023 (accessed October 7, 2026).