Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-154

Nixon phone call with Woods on Dan Rather interview and Public relations

Sunday, January 2, 1972 · 11:11 PM–11:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 48 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation017-154 on Tape 17 (tape position 05:55:47–05:56:35)StartSunday, January 2, 1972 at 11:11 PMEndSunday, January 2, 1972 at 11:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-154 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to contact William P. Rogers and Donald Rumsfeld to gauge their reactions to his recent television interview with Dan Rather. Nixon explains that he is isolating himself from direct communication with staff and relies on Woods to serve as a conduit for their feedback. He tasks Woods with gathering their impressions and reporting back to him within fifteen minutes.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
You in bed?
No.
Oh, no.
No, I haven't even started the pack for tomorrow yet.
Where are you?
I'm home.
Yeah.
But I've been listening to television and all sorts of things.
And I didn't talk with either Bill Rogers or Don Rumsfeld, but they both called and left words with the operators.
They just wanted to leave words.
They called.
Call them back, will you?
Okay.
And ask them what they thought?
Yeah, I want to know.
Okay.
You see, I've left all the calls with you because I'm not talking to people, Rose.
All right, I will.
All right.
Okay.
And then call me back in 15 minutes.
All right.
Bye.
All right.

NARA Description

On January 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 11:11 pm to 11:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-154 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-154

Date: January 2, 1972
Time: 11:11 - 11:12 pm
Location: January 2, 1972

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.

     Woods's location

     Woods's schedule
         -Phone calls from William P. Rogers and Donald H. Rumsfeld
                    -Call from Woods
                          -Reaction from the President’s interview with Dan Rather

Also recorded on January 3, 1972

  • 017-155 11:12 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 017-156 11:13 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 11:13 pm to 11:22 pm.
  • 017-157 11:22 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:22 pm.
  • 017-158 11:23 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 11:23 pm to 11:28 pm.
  • 017-159 11:28 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:28 pm and 11:30 pm.
  • 017-160 11:30 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 11:30 pm to 11:35 pm.
  • 017-161 11:35 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:35 pm.
  • 017-162 11:36 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:36 pm to 11:42 pm.

All 105 conversations from January 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-154, January 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-154 (accessed October 10, 2026).