Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 18 › Conversation 018-077

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on State of the Union and John B. Connally

Thursday, January 13, 1972 · 2:34 PM–2:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsHaldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); White House operator; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation018-077 on Tape 18 (tape position 03:46:01–03:47:23)StartThursday, January 13, 1972 at 2:34 PMEndThursday, January 13, 1972 at 2:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 018-077 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417192247 ↗

AI Summary

H. R. Haldeman and President Nixon discussed logistical frustrations regarding a volatile event schedule, specifically highlighting the uncertainty of a planned appearance that had been repeatedly canceled and reinstated. The conversation touched upon the scheduling of John B. Connally and the strategic challenges of aligning appearances with the upcoming State of the Union address. Haldeman also initiated a request to contact Major General James D. Hughes to facilitate these administrative coordination efforts.

Audio

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NARA Description

On January 13, 1972, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 2:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 018-077 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 18-77

Date: January 13, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:34 pm and 2:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 314-1A]

     Request for a call to Maj. Gen. James D. Hughes

[Haldeman conferred with the President.]

     Scheduling
          -John B. Connally
          -Unknown event
          -State of the Union speech

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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, please.
General Hughes, please.
Thank you.
I hadn't thought about that.
Other than that, it wouldn't make any difference.
Well, it's different from trying to get off the trailer all the way along.
You know, from the question of finally being there and not being there, and it's canceled and back on again.
So the last I knew, it was canceled.
Then I got the folder last night, and there it was back in.
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
especially when you're going against the State of the Union or something like that.
They think that's the last chance to get something in.

Also recorded on January 13, 1972

  • 647-020 2:22 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 2:22 pm.
  • 647-021 2:22 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 2:34 pm.
  • 647-022 2:22 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:22 pm and 2:34 pm.
  • 314-001 2:34 PM · 1 hr 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, James D. ("Don") Hughes, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:34 pm to 3:41 pm.
  • 018-078 2:45 PM · 46 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and James D. ("Don") Hughes talked on the telephone at 2:45 pm.
  • 018-079 2:45 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:45 pm.
  • 018-080 2:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:45 pm to 2:47 pm.
  • 018-081 2:47 PM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and James D. ("Don") Hughes talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:47 pm and 3:09 pm.

All 48 conversations from January 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 018-077, January 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417192247). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/018-077 (accessed November 8, 2026).