Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 33 › Conversation 033-022

Nixon phone call with Hirsch on 1972 election and South Dakota

Saturday, November 4, 1972 · 10:20 AM–10:28 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Hirsch, RobertConversation033-022 on Tape 33StartSaturday, November 4, 1972 at 10:20 AMEndSaturday, November 4, 1972 at 10:28 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 033-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held a campaign encouragement call with South Dakota congressional candidate Robert Hirsch just days before the 1972 election. Nixon expressed his strong support for Hirsch’s candidacy, emphasizing their shared ideological alignment on peace, national strength, and economic prosperity. The discussion also addressed broader electoral prospects in South Dakota, including the potential success of other Republican candidates and the First Lady’s ancestral ties to the state.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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There you are, sir.
Good morning, Mr. President.
Bob, I know you're getting toward the end of a campaign.
You're probably a bit tired and everything, but just pour on the coal right till Election Day, and you're going to win.
We're going to do that, Mr. President.
And a lot of success to you on this win that you make as you go to California for your voting opportunity.
I only wish I could come to South Dakota because South Dakota has been very good to me.
It's a state that I have never lost.
And let me say, I don't... We're going to do it on this occasion.
Things are very good for you.
Ed Cox was in with us yesterday on four different...
Great, great.
Let me say that we need the team there.
We need you in that United States Senate because you stand for the things that I stand for.
You stand for peace with honor rather than peace with surrender.
You stand for a strong America rather than a weak America.
You stand for prosperity without war, without inflation.
We stand for and you stand for the kind of progress that will build this country in a way that we can all have the opportunity we want.
And I think that you will be a tower of strength in the Senate
And we want you there, and I wish you the very best.
Well, thank you, Mr. President.
We're going to give you a full congressional slate in John Vickerman in the 1st Congressional District and Jim Abner in the 2nd Congressional District.
They are like-minded people.
We will provide a good team to help the administration get the very necessary things done that need to be done.
The Dakota stands behind you, Mr. President, and as you leave the nation's capital to swing west, I have the assurance that that will be the result on Tuesday next.
Let me say this, that I stand behind South Dakota, too.
And also, I want you to know that you should point out that my wife is, as you know, is basically...
You could almost say a granddaughter of South Dakota because her parents were married in South Dakota.
I think that's right.
So we're very proud.
Your very excellent record is the reason why South Dakota stands firmly behind you and will support your re-election.
Great, and good luck to you now, and work hard.
Bye.

NARA Description

On November 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Robert Hirsch talked on the telephone from 10:20 am to 10:28 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 033-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 33-22

Date: November 4, 1972
Time: 10:20 am - 10:28 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Robert Hirsch.

[This is the original beginning of Conversation No. 033-021, which has been merged with
Conversation No. 033-022.]
                                               - 24 -

                           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

                                                            Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)

[See Conversation No. 389-11M]

      Greetings

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift during
chronological review 2007-2013]

      1972 election
           -Hirsch's campaign
           -The President’s schedule
                  -California
           -South Dakota
                  -The President's chances
                  -Edward R.F. Cox's visit
                  -Hirsch's positions
                        -Peace with honor
                        -US Strength
                        -Prosperity
                              -War, inflation
                  -Congressional races
                        -John Vickerman
                        -James Abdnor
                  -Support for the President

      Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon             -Roots in South Dakota
                 -Parents’ marriage

      1972 election
           -South Dakota
                  -Support for the President

*****************************************************************
                                              - 25 -

                            NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

                                                              Conversation No. 33-114 (cont’d)

Also recorded on November 4, 1972

  • 033-016 10:09 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Wesley Powell, and Beverly Powell talked on the telephone from 10:09 am to 10:13 am.
  • 033-017 10:13 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:13 am and 10:14 am.
  • 033-018 10:13 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, J. Caleb Boggs, and Pierre S. DuPont talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:13 am and 10:14 am.
  • 033-019 10:14 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and S. Fletcher Thompson talked on the telephone from 10:14 am to 10:16 am.
  • 033-020 10:17 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John K. MacIver talked on the telephone from 10:17 am to 10:19 am.
  • 033-021 10:20 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 10:28 am.
  • 033-023 10:28 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and James A. McClure talked on the telephone from 10:28 am to 10:29 am.
  • 033-024 10:30 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Margaret Chase Smith talked on the telephone from 10:30 am to 10:33 am.

All 59 conversations from November 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 033-022, November 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/033-022 (accessed October 10, 2026).