Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-015

Nixon phone call with Bull on Nicaragua earthquake and Harry S. Truman

Wednesday, December 27, 1972 · 7:52 PM–7:53 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation035-015 on Tape 35StartWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 7:52 PMEndWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 7:53 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull coordinate the logistics for a trip to Nicaragua to provide earthquake relief. Nixon plans to depart immediately following the funeral of Harry S. Truman to ensure he arrives in the region by late afternoon. The President intends to conduct a helicopter tour of the disaster area, interact directly with survivors, and deliver aid.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Steve.

There you are.

Hi, Steve.

Yes, sir.

With regard to the time, I was wrong on one point.

I thought the Truman funeral, I was thinking of it today, but it'll be tomorrow.

We should leave immediately after the funeral, which I think is at 11 o'clock.

I think the funeral is at 2 o'clock tomorrow, sir.

2 o'clock, all right.

We would leave immediately thereafter, you see.

All right.

Once the funeral is over, we leave about 3, you see.

All right.

And then off we go.

Because there'd be no better tribute to Truman than to go out and do something for people.

Okay?

All right, sir.

Check it out.

I'm working on it.

Say we're, figure, in other words, we leave at 3 o'clock right after the funeral and go down and what I want to do is to go in and then get in a helicopter and fly over the areas, pop down, shake hands with people.

You know, bring along a little check and all this and that and the other thing.

Okay?

All right, sir.

All right.

I'll get back, sir.

NARA Description

On December 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:52 pm to 7:53 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-15

Date: December 27, 1972
Time: 7:52 pm - 7:53 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Stephen B. Bull.

       The President's schedule
            -Possible trip to Nicaragua
                  -Timing
                         -Harry S. Truman funeral, December 28, 1972
                  -Nature of trip
                         -Helicopter
                         -Hand-shaking
                         -Relief aid to earthquake victims
                         -Return call to the President

Also recorded on December 28, 1972

035-012 7:15 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:15 pm and 7:41 pm.
035-013 7:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:41 pm to 7:43 pm.
035-014 7:43 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:43 pm and 7:52 pm.
035-016 7:53 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 8:14 pm.
035-017 8:14 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:14 pm to 8:33 pm.
035-018 8:33 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:33 pm and 8:39 pm.
035-019 8:39 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:39 pm to 8:45 pm.
035-020 8:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:45 pm and 8:49 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-015, December 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/035-015 (accessed October 24, 2026).