Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 17 › Conversation 017-027

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Alexander M. Haig Jr.

Friday, December 24, 1971 · 4:57 PM–5:01 PM ET · White House Telephone ·7 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operatorConversation017-027 onTape 17 (tape position 01:24:39–01:24:46)StartFriday, December 24, 1971 at 4:57 PMEndFriday, December 24, 1971 at 5:01 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to request an immediate phone connection to Alexander M. Haig, Jr. The brief exchange served as a logistical instruction to facilitate communication with his deputy assistant for national security affairs on Christmas Eve. No other substantive matters were discussed during this short administrative interaction.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Have dinner?
General Haig, 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 4:57 pm and 5:01 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-27

Date: December 24, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:57 pm and 5:01 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

Also recorded on December 24, 1971

  • 017-023 4:39 PM · 4 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 017-028 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.
  • 017-029 5:09 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and W. Clement Stone talked on the telephone from 5:09 pm to 5:10 pm.
  • 017-030 5:10 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:10 pm and 5:18 pm.
  • 017-031 5:18 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Ralph H. Cake talked on the telephone from 5:18 pm to 5:19 pm.

All 54 conversations from December 24, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-027, 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/017-027 (accessed September 18, 2026).