Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-199

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on William L. Safire

Monday, February 26, 1973 · 5:36 PM–6:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 12 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation043-199 on Tape 43StartMonday, February 26, 1973 at 5:36 PMEndMonday, February 26, 1973 at 6:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-199 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon contacted the White House operator to place a direct telephone call to William L. Safire. The interaction served as a brief administrative request to facilitate communication with his speechwriter and advisor. No further substantive discussion took place during this brief exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.3 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Sapphire please.
Yes, Mr. President.

NARA Description

On February 26, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:36 pm and 6:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-199 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-199

Date: February 26, 1973
Time: Unknown between 5:36 pm and 6:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

       Request for a call to William L. Safire

Also recorded on February 26, 1973

  • 043-197 5:21 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:21 pm.
  • 413-029 5:21 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:21 pm.
  • 413-030 5:21 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:21 pm to 5:22 pm.
  • 413-031 5:22 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:22 pm and 5:36 pm.
  • 043-198 5:36 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone at 5:36 pm.
  • 413-032 5:36 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:36 pm to 5:37 pm.
  • 413-033 5:40 PM · 1 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, William L. Safire, Henry A. Kissinger, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:40 pm to 7:15 pm.
  • 043-200 6:03 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 6:03 pm to 6:07 pm.

All 20 conversations from February 26, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-199, February 26, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-199 (accessed October 1, 2026).