Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-070

Nixon phone call with Rackley on Christmas and Personal correspondence

Saturday, December 25, 1971 · 10:14 AM–10:16 AM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rackley, Frank B.; Rackley, MargueriteConversation017-070 on Tape 17 (tape position 02:53:24–02:54:47)StartSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 10:14 AMEndSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 10:16 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-070 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon initiated a brief holiday call to Frank B. Rackley and his wife, Marguerite, to exchange Christmas greetings and express appreciation for a gift provided by the couple. The conversation served primarily as a personal gesture of friendship, with the President offering encouragement to Frank Rackley and acknowledging the couple's support. No formal policy or administrative decisions were made during the exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Hello.
Hello.
Well, Frank, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to you and to all the Rackleys and to tell you how much we appreciated that Christmas remembrance we sent you.
When I go to swimming, I just put that right around me to keep from catching cold.
That's right.
That's right.
Are you in Washington?
That's what I meant.
Right.
And right there in your old home, huh?
That's great, that's great.
Everybody doing well?
Everybody's doing well.
Mm-hmm.
And you're, well, we sure appreciated your friendship through the years.
Oh, we appreciate it.
We want you to, you just take care of yourself and keep fighting, boy.
I will.
And keep baby from getting out of line, okay?
All right.
Mr. President, this is Marguerite.
Yeah, Marguerite, how are you?
I want to give my best to the whole family.
Yes.
We're so proud of you every inch of the way.
We thought, yeah.

NARA Description

On December 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Frank B. Rackley, and Marguerite Rackley talked on the telephone from 10:14 am to 10:16 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-070 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-70

Date: December 25, 1971
Time: 10:14 am - 10:16 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Frank B. Rackley.

     Christmas greetings

     Rackley family

     Rackley's gift to President

     Rackley family

     Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo

Marguerite Rackley joined the conversation.

     Family greetings

**********************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/21/2017.
Segment cleared for release.]

[Personal Returnable]
[017-070-w001]
[Duration: 24s]

     Family greetings
          -Christmas card
          -Political office

**********************************************************************

Also recorded on December 25, 1971

  • 017-064 9:53 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lenore L. Romney, and George W. Romney talked on the telephone from 9:53 am to 9:56 am.
  • 017-065 9:57 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William F. ("Billy") Graham talked on the telephone from 9:57 am to 9:58 am.
  • 017-066 9:58 AM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:58 am and 10:01 am.
  • 017-067 10:01 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Earl L. Butz talked on the telephone from 10:01 am to 10:02 am.
  • 017-068 10:06 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Claudia A. Johnson talked on the telephone from 10:06 am to 10:08 am.
  • 017-069 10:06 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:06 am and 10:08 am.
  • 017-071 10:16 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:16 am and 10:29 am.
  • 017-072 10:29 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Winton M. ("Red") Blount, Jr. talked on the telephone from 10:29 am to 10:30 am.

All 57 conversations from December 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-070, December 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-070 (accessed October 25, 2026).