Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-055

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on White House operator

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 12:47 PM–2:21 PM ET · White House Telephone · 9 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation031-055 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 12:47 PMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 2:21 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-055 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to facilitate a telephone connection to General Walter R. Tkach. This administrative request served as the primary purpose of the brief interaction. The call was initiated to establish contact with the President’s physician.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Thank you so much.

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 12:47 pm to 2:21 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-055 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-55

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:47 pm and 2:21 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

[See Conversation No. 367-3]

        Request for a call to Gen. Walter R. Tkach

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

  • 799-019 11:42 AM · 59 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, unknown person(s), White House operator, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:42 am to 12:45 pm.
  • 031-053 11:44 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:44 am and 12:45 pm.
  • 031-054 12:45 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 12:45 pm to 12:47 pm.
  • 799-037 12:54 PM · 26 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:54 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 367-001 1:26 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:26 pm and 2:21 pm.
  • 367-002 1:26 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:26 pm and 2:21 pm.
  • 367-003 1:28 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:28 pm and 2:21 pm.
  • 367-004 1:28 PM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:28 pm and 2:21 pm.

All 97 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-055, October 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-055 (accessed October 1, 2026).