Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-078

Nixon phone call with Lauer on Christmas and Condolences

Saturday, December 25, 1971 · 11:02 AM–11:05 AM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Lauer, Michael; Lauer, Ann Marie; Lauer, Kathy; Lauer, KevinConversation017-078 on Tape 17 (tape position 03:03:29–03:06:55)StartSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 11:02 AMEndSaturday, December 25, 1971 at 11:05 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-078 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417191919 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated this Christmas Day telephone call to Michael Lauer and his family to respond to a heartfelt letter Michael had sent regarding a recent family tragedy involving his brother. The President offered condolences and words of encouragement to Michael, his mother, and his siblings, urging them to remain hopeful and supportive of one another despite their loss. Nixon explicitly encouraged the children to maintain their optimism and tasked the eldest brother, Kevin, with keeping the family's spirits high.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Michael Lauer, Ann Marie Lauer, Kathy Lauer, and Kevin Lauer talked on the telephone from 11:02 am to 11:05 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-078 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-78

Date: December 25, 1971
Time: 11:02 am - 11:05 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Michael Lauer.

     Lauer's letter to the President
          -The President's answer

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/27/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[017-078-w001]
[Duration: 10s]

     A cousin of the President
          -Son
                -LSD

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     President offering encouragement

     Lauer's family
          -Brothers and sisters
                -Number
          -Mother

Mrs. Lauer joined the conversation.

     Mrs. Lauer's family

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 02/27/2018.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[017-078-w002]
[Duration: 14s]

     A cousin of the President
          -Son
                -LSD

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

     Encouragement to the Lauer family

Ann Marie Lauer Joined the conversation.

     Age

Kathy Lauer joined the conversation.

     Age

     College

Kevin Lauer joined the conversation.

     Age

     Mother

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

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I have Michael Lauer for you.
On the 9th.
Hello?
Hello?
Is this Michael?
Yeah.
Well, I wanted to call you to tell you that I have answered your letter.
You'll probably get it in a couple days, but I want you to know that on this Christmas Day that Mrs. Nixon and I are thinking about you, and we know you've been through a very great tragedy, but you just remember that...
that these things happen with lots of people.
Your brother's all right.
You can be sure of that.
He's all right.
And you just remember you're just 18 years of age and you've got a good life ahead.
You just keep your idealism and keep up your hopes.
Will you do that now?
Sure, thanks a lot.
And you just give my best to your family.
How many other brothers and sisters do you have?
One brother and two sisters.
One brother.
Are they there with your family?
Yeah, they're out here.
On Christmas Day?
Yeah.
And your mother there, too?
Sure.
I'll say hello to your mom.
Well, Miss Lauer, your son wrote a beautiful letter to me, and I just told him that I know exactly how he felt.
These things happen, and you can be sure we'll do our best to try to deal with these things in the future.
And you have these wonderful family left, and you just keep your chin up now.
And remember, the future's going to be all right.
Why?
Well, I know what a tragedy it is, but you just keep your faith, and you're going to be all right.
Sure you are.
To whom?
Sure.
What are their names?
And Mary.
And how old are you, hon?
Fifteen.
Well, that's a wonderful age, and you just, you just, you're going to have a great life now, and these tragedies happen in every family, and your brother, he's in a good place, you can be sure.
Are you in, how old are you?
I'm 21.
You're the oldest one?
No, Kevin's 21.
Kevin's 21, and you're graduating from?
Edward Howard.
Oh, well, well, anyway, we just wish you the very best, and we know this is sort of a sad time in a way, but you make it a happy one for the family.
Will you do that now?
Fine.
Kevin, you're the number one, huh?
Yeah.
Well, we just wish you the best, and I know that you've
at a sad time because of the events, but you just remember the life is ahead of you, and it's going to be a good life.
And you just, it's your job to keep your mother and the rest of the family, you just keep their spirits up.
You do that now?
You bet you will.
All right.
Merry Christmas.

Also recorded on December 25, 1971

  • 017-076 10:53 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Warren E. Burger talked on the telephone from 10:53 am to 10:55 am.
  • 017-077 10:55 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:55 am and 11:02 am.
  • 017-079 11:07 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hugh Scott, and Marian Scott talked on the telephone from 11:07 am to 11:09 am.
  • 017-080 11:10 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Carl B. Albert talked on the telephone from 11:10 am to 11:12 am.
  • 017-081 11:12 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:21 am.
  • 017-082 11:12 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:21 am.
  • 017-083 11:12 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:21 am.
  • 017-084 11:21 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and James D. ("Don") Hughes talked on the telephone from 11:21 am to 11:22 am.

All 37 conversations from December 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-078, December 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417191919). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-078 (accessed November 2, 2026).