Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 40 › Conversation 040-018

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Billy Graham

Monday, June 11, 1973 · 9:00 PM–9:05 PM ET · White House Telephone · 15 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation040-018 on Tape 40StartMonday, June 11, 1973 at 9:00 PMEndMonday, June 11, 1973 at 9:05 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 040-018 ↗

President Nixon instructed the White House operator to place an outgoing telephone call to Reverend Billy Graham. This brief administrative interaction served as the initiation of communication between the President and the prominent evangelist, who frequently served as a spiritual advisor to the administration. No further dialogue was recorded on this segment of the tape.

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Operator.
Try Dr. Billy Graham, please.
Yes, sir.

On June 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:00 pm and 9:05 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 040-018 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 40-18

Date: June 11, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:00 pm and 9:05 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Request for telephone call
          -William F. (“Billy”) Graham
  • 040-014 8:40 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:40 pm to 8:44 pm.
  • 040-015 8:44 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:44 pm and 8:50 pm.
  • 040-016 8:50 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:50 pm.
  • 040-017 8:56 PM · 4 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 8:56 pm to 9:00 pm.
  • 040-019 9:05 PM · 19 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 9:05 pm.
  • 040-020 9:07 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:07 pm to 9:23 pm.
  • 040-021 8:30 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:30 am and 8:44 am.
  • 937-001 8:30 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:30 am to 8:35 am.

Conversation 040-018, June 12, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).