Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-121

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on White House operator

Wednesday, October 18, 1972 · 2:39 PM–5:43 PM ET · White House Telephone · 22 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation031-121 on Tape 31StartWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 2:39 PMEndWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 5:43 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-121 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a routine request to the White House operator to be connected with First Lady Pat Nixon. The call serves as a brief logistical communication between the President and the switchboard to facilitate private contact with his spouse. No further policy or administrative matters are addressed during this brief exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Thank you.
You are.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:39 pm and 5:43 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-121 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-121

Date: October 18, 1972
Time: Unknown between 2:39 pm and 5:43 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

         Request for a call to Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

Also recorded on October 18, 1972

  • 803-015 2:33 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:33 pm to 2:34 pm.
  • 803-016 2:34 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:34 pm and 2:37 pm.
  • 031-119 2:37 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr., and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 2:37 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 803-017 2:37 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:37 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 803-018 2:40 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Nikolai S. Patolichev, Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, William P. Rogers, Peter G. Peterson, Peter M. Flanigan, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:40 pm to 3:16 pm.
  • 803-019 3:16 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:16 pm and 3:20 pm.
  • 803-020 3:16 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:16 pm and 3:20 pm.
  • 803-021 3:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:20 pm to 3:21 pm.

All 86 conversations from October 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-121, October 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/031-121 (accessed October 10, 2026).