Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-073

Nixon phone call with Bull on Switchboard operations and Call management

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 4:53 PM–4:59 PM ET · White House Telephone · 54 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.; White House operatorConversation031-073 on Tape 31StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 4:53 PMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 4:59 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-073 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with Stephen B. Bull regarding the status and efficiency of his incoming telephone calls. They discussed the current progress of the switchboard operations and the limited number of operators currently processing his communications. Nixon directed Bull to hold all incoming calls in a queue rather than forwarding them individually.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.2 MB

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:53 pm and 4:59 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-073 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-73

Date: October 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 4:53 pm and 4:59 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Stephen B. Bull talked with the White House operator. Bull conferred with the President during
the telephone call.

        The President's telephone call requests
            -Calls completed
            -Number of switchboard operators
            -Instructions on handling calls

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Yes, Steve.
Yes, this is Steve.
How are you coming with the president's calls?
They've only come through with four so far, Mr. President.
I think it's just four.
They reported just a moment ago.
There's three girls working on it.
All right.
Just pile them all up, please, and just hold them on the line.
All right.
Thank you.

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

  • 031-069 4:45 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:45 pm.
  • 799-031 4:46 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:46 pm and 4:49 pm.
  • 031-071 4:49 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and William M. Fast talked on the telephone from 4:49 pm to 4:51 pm.
  • 799-032 4:49 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William M. Fast met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:49 pm to 4:51 pm.
  • 031-072 4:52 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Joseph Townsley talked on the telephone from 4:52 pm to 4:53 pm.
  • 799-033 4:52 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Joseph Townsley met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:52 pm to 4:53 pm.
  • 799-034 4:53 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:53 pm and 5:01 pm.
  • 799-035 4:53 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:53 pm and 5:01 pm.

All 103 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-073, 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/031-073 (accessed November 9, 2026).