Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-159

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Personnel management

Wednesday, February 21, 1973 · 6:47 PM–6:53 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation043-159 on Tape 43StartWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 6:47 PMEndWednesday, February 21, 1973 at 6:53 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-159 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H. R. Haldeman coordinate the recruitment of an unnamed woman for a new position, agreeing that Haldeman should manage the negotiation to distance the President from the personnel matter. They identify the need to move her out of an agency facing impending budget cuts and into a more prestigious role. To incentivize her acceptance, Nixon instructs Haldeman to highlight an upcoming major announcement regarding the People's Republic of China and a promised summer trip there.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. Haldeman, sir.
Hello.
I was wondering if you had been able to get Finch yet.
Well, then, maybe I had better call him.
No, let me get him.
But he's going from Riverside to San Diego or San Diego to Riverside.
I don't know which.
Well, you think maybe, though, if I called him, that might have more of an effect on him, just to say that this is the way it is and want him to cooperate on it.
Well, this poses no problem to me.
I can talk.
Yeah, but I don't think you should get in... Well, there's no problem with doing it.
I don't think you should get into it, though.
Okay, well, then you follow through, and then I tell him that, look, we've got a very difficult problem here, and that she cannot be in an agency that we're going to, you know, cut down.
Right.
And that...
On the other hand, this other thing is an enormous opportunity, particularly you can tell him that there's going to be a big announcement on China tomorrow and that I will arrange for her to go over there in the summer, which will be a hell of a big thing for her.
Absolutely.
And he just ought to hold it out to her and tell her she should take it, and that's what we want her to do.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
We'll do it.

NARA Description

On February 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:47 pm to 6:53 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-159 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-159

Date: February 21, 1973
Time: 6:47 pm - 6:53 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The president talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

       Robert H. Finch
                                             -91-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                           Conversation No. 43-159 (cont’d)

             -Location
             -Unknown woman
                  -People's Republic of China [PRC]
                  -Acceptance of position

Also recorded on February 21, 1973

  • 860-012 3:30 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:30 pm to 3:58 pm.
  • 860-013 3:58 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 860-014 3:58 PM · 40 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 860-017 3:58 PM · 13 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:58 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 860-015 4:02 PM · 1 hr 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Edgar Allen Poe, Garnett D. ("Jack") Horner, John D. Ehrlichman, Stephen B. Bull, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:02 pm to 5:30 pm.
  • 860-016 5:33 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:33 pm to 6:00 pm.
  • 043-157 6:30 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 6:30 pm to 6:33 pm.
  • 043-158 6:33 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:33 pm and 6:47 pm.

All 88 conversations from February 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-159, February 21, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-159 (accessed October 10, 2026).