Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 17 › Conversation 017-038
Nixon phone call with Stans on Christmas and USSR
Friday, December 24, 1971 · 5:40 PM–5:42 PM ET · White House Telephone ·2 min
AI Summary
President Nixon placed a holiday call to Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stans, who was vacationing with John A. Mulcahy. The discussion primarily served to exchange Christmas greetings, though Nixon briefly addressed geopolitical concerns regarding the Soviet Union. The President praised Stans’s recent trip to the USSR and reaffirmed the administration’s strategic approach to upcoming diplomatic negotiations.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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NARA Description
On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Maurice H. Stans talked on the telephone from 5:40 pm to 5:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-038 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 17-38
Date: December 24, 1971
Time: 5:40 pm - 5:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with the White House Operator.
Call from Maurice H. Stans
The President talked with Stans.
Christmas greetings
Stans's location
-John A. (“Jack”) Mulcahy
-Weather
-Health
-Mulcahy's location
-Eisaku Sato
-Trip to Union of Soviet Socialist Republic [USSR]
-Cabinet report
-Melvin Laird
-Negotiations
-USSR statements
-US strategy
-Trip PR
Kathleen (Carmody) StansAlso recorded on December 24, 1971
- 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.
- 017-032 5:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 5:20 pm to 5:22 pm.
- 017-033 5:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Stewart J. O. Alsop talked on the telephone from 5:22 pm to 5:24 pm.
- 017-034 5:25 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Peter M. Flanigan talked on the telephone from 5:25 pm to 5:28 pm.
- 017-035 5:29 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Elliot L. Richardson talked on the telephone from 5:29 pm to 5:32 pm.
- 017-036 5:32 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:32 pm.
- 017-037 5:33 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 5:33 pm to 5:39 pm.
- 017-039 5:43 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:43 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 017-038, 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/017-038 (accessed September 18, 2026).