Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-071

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Winton M. Blount

Saturday, December 25, 1971 · 10:16 AM–10:29 AM ET · White House Telephone · 30 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation017-071 on Tape 17 (tape position 02:54:47–02:55:17)StartSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 10:16 AMEndSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 10:29 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-071 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place holiday calls to two former Postmasters General, Winton M. Blount and Arthur E. Summerfield, at their respective homes in Alabama and Michigan. During the exchange, the operator noted difficulty reaching Secretary of Agriculture Clifford M. Hardin. Nixon dismissed the need to continue pursuing the call to Hardin, effectively closing that specific task.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes sir?
Red Blunt, he's probably in Alabama, former postmaster general.
Yes sir?
And Hart Summerfield, also former postmaster general, he's probably up in Michigan.
All right, and I'm not getting an answer on Mr. Clifford Hardin.
That's all right.
If you don't get him, that's okay.
All right.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On December 25, 1971, 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. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-071 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-71

Date: December 25, 1971
Time: Unknown between 10:16 am and 10:29 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for calls to Winton M. (“Red”) Blount and Arthur E. Summerfield

     Status of call to Clifford M. Hardin

Also recorded on December 25, 1971

  • 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.
  • 017-070 10:14 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Frank B. Rackley, and Marguerite Rackley talked on the telephone from 10:14 am to 10:16 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.
  • 017-073 10:37 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Arthur E. Summerfield, and Miriam Summerfield talked on the telephone from 10:37 am to 10:38 am.

All 57 conversations from December 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-071, 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/017-071 (accessed October 10, 2026).