Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 31 › Conversation 031-134

Nixon phone call with Thurmond on 1972 Presidential Election

Wednesday, October 18, 1972 · 7:55 PM–7:57 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Thurmond, StromConversation031-134 on Tape 31StartWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 7:55 PMEndWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 7:57 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 031-134 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiated this brief call to congratulate Senator Strom Thurmond on the birth of his son. The two men also discussed the upcoming presidential election, with Thurmond reaffirming his steadfast public support for the administration. Nixon acknowledged Thurmond’s significant contributions and political efforts throughout the campaign season.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Senator Thurmond, sir.
Preston's on the line.
Hello?
Uh, hello?
Congratulations.
Well, thank you, Mr. President.
And give my very best to that beautiful wife and that wonderful son you have.
And, uh, just appreciate through all these times the way that you've stood by us and, uh, kind of, uh, whatever happens this, uh,
You can be sure that Strom Thurmond played a great role in it.
Well, thank you very much.
And I want to tell you that in all of my meetings over the state, wherever I go, I have taken occasions to praise the magnificent job you're doing.
Well, Strom, you've helped enormously and I do appreciate it.
And I just hope everything's going well there at the hospital.
Right.
That's right.
You tell her I weighed nine and a half pounds.
Okay.
Those were the days before they found out how to reduce the weight.
All right.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Strom Thurmond talked on the telephone from 7:55 pm to 7:57 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 031-134 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 31-134

Date: October 18, 1972
Time: 7:55 pm - 7:57 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Strom Thurmond.

[See Conversation No. 369-30]

        Thurmond
            -Birth of son
            -Forthcoming election
                 -Thurmond's support for the President's administration
            -Birth of son
                 -Nancy Thurmond

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 35s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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Also recorded on October 18, 1972

  • 031-131 7:23 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:23 pm and 7:28 pm.
  • 031-132 7:28 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ralph H. Cake talked on the telephone from 7:28 pm to 7:30 pm.
  • 369-026 7:28 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ralph H. Cake met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:28 pm to 7:30 pm.
  • 031-133 7:30 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:30 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 369-027 7:30 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:30 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 369-028 7:30 PM · 15 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 7:30 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 369-029 7:30 PM · 13 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 7:30 pm and 7:55 pm.
  • 369-030 7:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Strom Thurmond met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:55 pm to 7:57 pm.

All 86 conversations from October 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 031-134, 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/031-134 (accessed October 10, 2026).