Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 17 › Conversation 017-111

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on C. Arnholt Smith and San Diego

Friday, December 31, 1971 · 7:49 PM–7:55 PM ET · White House Telephone ·10 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  White House operatorConversation017-111 onTape 17 (tape position 03:48:54–03:49:03)StartFriday, December 31, 1971 at 7:49 PMEndFriday, December 31, 1971 at 7:55 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-111 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to place an outgoing call to businessman C. Arnholt Smith in San Diego. The brief exchange served solely to facilitate this communication connection. No further substantive policy matters or decisions were discussed during this brief 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Could you get me Mr. Arnholdt Smith in San Diego, please?

NARA Description

On December 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:49 pm and 7:55 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-111 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-111

Date: December 31, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:49 pm and 7:55 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for a call to C. Arnholt Smith

Also recorded on January 1, 1972

  • 017-109 7:40 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 7:40 pm to 7:46 pm.
  • 017-110 7:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Taft Schreiber talked on the telephone from 7:47 pm to 7:49 pm.
  • 017-112 7:55 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and C. Arnholt Smith talked on the telephone from 7:55 pm to 7:59 pm.
  • 017-113 7:59 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:14 pm.
  • 017-114 7:59 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:59 pm and 8:14 pm.
  • 017-115 8:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Paul W. Keyes talked on the telephone from 8:14 pm to 8:16 pm.
  • 311-001 9:05 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:05 pm and 9:08 pm.
  • 017-116 9:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Elmer H. Bobst talked on the telephone from 9:08 pm to 9:11 pm.

All 58 conversations from January 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-111, January 1, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-111 (accessed September 18, 2026).