Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-088
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Busing and White House messaging
Thursday, March 16, 1972 · 9:14 PM–9:17 PM ET · White House Telephone
AI Summary
President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discuss the timing and messaging strategy for an upcoming speech regarding the contentious issue of busing. They coordinate on how to frame the administration's stance for the press and prepare for potential scrutiny from major outlets like the Washington Post and New York Times. The dialogue includes considerations of how this policy will be perceived by various political stakeholders, including Congress and black voters, as well as the potential for legislative or constitutional actions.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:17:48 into the tape and ends around 03:20:57.
Transcript (AI-generated)
No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.
NARA Description
On March 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 9:14 pm to 9:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-088 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 21-88
Date: March 16, 1972
Time: 9:14 pm - 9:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
[See Conversation No. 323-25]
Press briefings
-Haldeman’s previous conversation with John D. Ehrlichman
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Timing
-Speech on busing
-Message to Congress
-Cabinet
Busing
-Charles W. Colson
-Issue
-Blacks
-Washington Post
-New York Times
-Edmund S. Muskie
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Moratorium
-Congress
-Courts
-Constitutional amendmentAlso recorded on March 17, 1972
- 021-087 8:47 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:47 pm and 9:14 pm.
- 323-025 9:14 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:14 pm to 9:17 pm.
- 021-089 9:17 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:17 pm and 10:27 pm.
- 323-026 9:17 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:17 pm and 9:40 pm.
- 323-027 9:17 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:17 pm and 9:40 pm.
- 323-028 9:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:17 pm and 9:40 pm.
- 687-001 9:42 PM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:42 pm and 10:20 pm.
- 021-090 10:27 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 10:27 pm to 10:29 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 021-088, March 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-088 (accessed October 3, 2026).