Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 42 › Conversation 042-102

Nixon phone call with Noyes on Foreign policy and Journalism

Thursday, May 6, 1971 · 2:24 PM–2:26 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Noyes, Croby S.Conversation042-102 on Tape 42 (tape position 02:32:02–02:33:44)StartThursday, May 6, 1971 at 2:24 PMEndThursday, May 6, 1971 at 2:26 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 042-102 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted journalist Crosby S. Noyes to express personal appreciation for his recent columns regarding foreign policy. The two discussed the public reception of Noyes' work and the nature of political criticism in Washington. Nixon emphasized his belief that the ultimate success of his foreign policy initiatives would validate the substance of Noyes' supportive commentary.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I had nothing particularly to call you about except to suggest that I imagine you probably are getting a few notes of, shall we say, criticism on some of your
uh columns on foreign affairs and i just want you to know there's one of your regular readers that likes them so thank you very much i think i think you've shown i appreciate your and i took a lot of guts to to you know in this town to say some of those things and i i do appreciate it very much actually i i don't get all that much criticism i i find that there is in the reaction that people bother to write to me
generally support the position.
Maybe this town is a little peculiar, but anyway, I'm not at any, you know, fire.
Well, the most important thing is that it all turned out right in the end.
Sometimes, you know, everybody worries about this
what he says or writes today or tomorrow on this decision and that one.
But in the final analysis, if it works fine, if it doesn't, it doesn't make any difference.
So I think it's going to, I think in the end that
What you've written is going to look pretty good.
I think so.
I think I've got some information.
I hope so, not for my sake, but for all of ours.
That's what really counts.
That's what really counts.
But I think over the next few months we may see some developments that could be very interesting.
Well, I certainly hope that's true.
Right.
Well, good to talk to you.
Thank you very much.
Bye-bye.

NARA Description

On May 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Croby S. Noyes talked on the telephone from 2:24 pm to 2:26 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 042-102 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 42-102

Date: May 6, 1971
Time: 2:24 pm - 2:26 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Crosby S. Noyes.

     Noyes’ columns on foreign affairs
         -Reaction
         -Developments

Also recorded on May 6, 1971

  • 493-016 1:06 PM · 37 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:06 pm and 2:30 pm.
  • 493-017 1:06 PM · 17 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:06 pm and 4:15 pm.
  • 042-100 1:49 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 1:49 pm to 1:50 pm.
  • 042-101 1:50 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 2:24 pm.
  • 042-103 2:26 PM · 2 min — Alexander P. Butterfield, White House operator, unknown person(s), and John F. Evans, Jr.'s secretary talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:26 pm and 5:00 pm.
  • 493-018 2:30 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 493-019 2:30 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 5:05 pm.
  • 056-001 3:32 PM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the President's Commission on Financial Structure and Regulation, including Reed O. Hunt, Atherton Bean, Morris D. Crawford, Jr., Morgan C. Earnest, James H. Edgerton, Richard G. Gilbert, William D. Grant, Alan Greenspan, Walter S. Holmes, Jr., [Joseph] Lane Kirkland, Donald S. MacNaughton, Edward H. Malone, Rex J. Morthland, William H. Morton, Ellmore C. Patterson, K. A. Randall, Ralph S. Regula, Dr. Raymond J. Saulnier, Ezra Solomon, Robert H. Stewart, III, Allen R. Rule, James Lynch, Lucille Mayne, Bertwing Mah, Dr. Donald Jacobs, Dr. Almarin Phillips, Dr. Samuel Chase, Clarence Scruggs, Henry Shine, Jr., Neil Murphy, Charls E. Walker, Peter M. Flanigan, and the White House photographer, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 3:32 pm to 4:15 pm.

All 36 conversations from May 6, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 042-102, May 6, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/042-102 (accessed October 3, 2026).