Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-013

Nixon phone call with Woods on People's Republic of China and H. R. Haldeman

Monday, January 31, 1972 · 8:00 PM–8:04 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Woods, Rose MaryConversation020-013 on Tape 20 (tape position 00:14:55–00:16:46)StartMonday, January 31, 1972 at 8:00 PMEndMonday, January 31, 1972 at 8:04 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 020-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to secure a spot for Rita Rajnich De Fantis on the upcoming presidential trip to the People’s Republic of China. Emphasizing that it is essential for First Lady Pat Nixon to have proper assistance on the trip, the President instructs Woods to coordinate with H. R. Haldeman to either add an extra position or reallocate an existing one. Woods agrees to discuss the logistical arrangements with Haldeman the following morning.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Oh.
Fine.
OK.
Hello.
Hi, Rose.
Hi.
I want to tell you that the, I think that it's very important that we work this out so that Rita can go along.
And so the thing to do is to talk to Harlem in the morning with regard to the fact that she should go and we'll just have to find one spot and not to, you know, he can find it.
to move and put her in the place.
Because they can't add one more, you don't think?
Well, you could try that too.
Try to add one, but we've got to have her because this is the first time we really have Pat agreeing to do this, which she's got to do from now on because it's good for her to go and be taken care of properly.
It's very important.
Don't you agree?
That's right.
So you just say that we have one to add or
the abstract one.
Okay?
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll talk to him in the morning.
All right.
Fine, Rosa.
Okay.
Bye.

NARA Description

On January 31, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 8:00 pm to 8:04 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 20-13

Date: January 31, 1972
Time: 8:00 pm - 8:04 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with the President.

     Status of call to Rose Mary Woods

The President talked with Woods.

     Trip to the People’s Republic of China [PRC]
           -Attendance
                 -Rita Rajnich De Fantis
                       -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                       -Thelma C. (“Pat’) Nixon

Also recorded on February 1, 1972

  • 020-011 7:26 PM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 7:26 pm to 7:27 pm.
  • 020-012 7:44 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 7:44 pm.
  • 020-014 9:21 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:21 pm and 9:49 pm.
  • 662-001 9:33 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:33 am to 9:35 am.
  • 662-002 9:39 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:39 am to 9:45 am.
  • 662-003 9:45 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 10:03 am.
  • 662-004 10:03 AM · 1 hr 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William F. ("Billy") Graham, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Rose Mary Woods, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:03 am to 11:37 am.
  • 662-005 11:39 AM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:39 am to 11:52 am.

All 23 conversations from February 1, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 020-013, February 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/020-013 (accessed October 12, 2026).