Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 29 › Conversation 029-033

Nixon phone call with Byrd on Washington Post and Media relations

Monday, August 7, 1972 · 8:31 AM–8:38 AM ET · White House Telephone · 49 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Byrd, Harry F., Jr.Conversation029-033 on Tape 29StartMonday, August 7, 1972 at 8:31 AMEndMonday, August 7, 1972 at 8:38 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 029-033 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. engaged in a brief, cordial exchange to return a previous call initiated by the Senator. The conversation focused on social pleasantries and the President's upcoming schedule in Maryland. The two men also commiserated over their mutual distaste for the Washington Post, with Nixon suggesting that the Senator consult a more balanced White House news summary to better gauge national sentiment.

Audio

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NARA Description

On August 7, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. talked on the telephone from 8:31 am to 8:38 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 029-033 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 29-33

Date: August 7, 1972
Time: 8:31 am - 8:38 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Harry F. Byrd, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 763-4]

     Greetings

     Byrd's call
          -Return call
                 -The President’s schedule
                      -Maryland

     Washington Post
         -News summary

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 6m 42s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Hello.
Senator Byrd, Mr. President.
Hello.
Good morning, Mr. President.
How are you?
I got your notice that after I got back from Maryland that you'd call me.
And sorry I didn't return it sooner.
Well, thank you so much for calling me this morning, Mr. President.
I hope I didn't get you up too early.
I bet you're already up, though.
Yes, I was.
I've even read the great Washington Post.
Oh, God, that's a heck of a way to start a day.
It's a hell of a way to start it.
I tell you, boy, I try to find something else.
We have a news summary down here which covers the balance of the country.
That's a little better.
It's a little better, you're right.
That's a little better.
At least you know that the people are writing something else than is in the Post.

Also recorded on August 7, 1972

  • 029-032 8:20 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:20 am and 8:31 am.
  • 763-001 8:20 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:20 am and 8:31 am.
  • 763-002 8:20 AM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:20 am and 8:31 am.
  • 763-003 8:20 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:20 am and 8:31 am.
  • 763-004 8:31 AM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:31 am to 8:38 am.
  • 763-005 8:38 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:38 am and 9:02 am.
  • 763-006 9:02 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:02 am to 9:04 am.
  • 763-007 9:04 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:04 am to 9:32 am.

All 38 conversations from August 7, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 029-033, August 7, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/029-033 (accessed November 15, 2026).