Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-059

Nixon phone call with Lynn on Watergate and Presidential Address

Monday, April 30, 1973 · 11:09 PM–11:13 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsLynn, James T.; Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation045-059 on Tape 45StartMonday, April 30, 1973 at 11:09 PMEndMonday, April 30, 1973 at 11:13 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-059 ↗

AI Summary

Secretary James T. Lynn called President Nixon to offer personal support following the President's televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. Lynn emphasized his loyalty and commended Nixon for accepting personal responsibility for the situation. Nixon dismissed concerns about his morale, assuring Lynn that he remained resilient and focused despite the gravity of the political crisis.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Secretary Lynn calling you, sir.
All right.
Bye.
There you are.
Hello.
Hello.
That's President Jim Lynn.
Yes.
I really want to say to you that I was really pulling for you tonight.
That has to be one of the most difficult things a man can do.
Well, it has to do it.
It's our job, you know?
What?
That's the job of a guy in the top spot.
You can't blame somebody else.
You take the job yourself.
Yeah, I know.
But listen, I just want to tell you, you know, you got my support all the way and anything I can do to help.
And I mean that.
Anything, you let me know.
Thank you, Jim.
I mean it.
You're very sweet of you to call.
Damn it, keep the chin up.
Oh, my kid, did it look down?
No, hell no.
But I know what it's like.
I don't know what that's like, because nothing would be like this.
But it must be that there's a feeling afterward of it.
Yeah.
Kind of emptiness, because you get charged up for it, and the juices are there.
Ah, don't worry.
I'm up.
Don't you worry.
And the main thing, you keep up, boy.
Don't worry.
Okay.
That's a promise.
Okay.
Good talking to you.

NARA Description

On April 30, 1973, James T. Lynn and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:09 pm to 11:13 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-059 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-59

Date: April 30, 1973
Time: 11:09 pm - 11:13 pm
Location: White House Telephone

James T. Lynn talked with the President.

     Watergate
          -President’s speech
          -President’s responsibility
          -President’s morale
          -Lynn’s support

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-055 10:54 PM · 44 sec — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward R. F. Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm.
  • 045-057 11:04 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Hobart D. Lewis talked on the telephone from 11:04 pm to 11:06 pm.
  • 045-058 11:07 PM · 2 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:08 pm.
  • 045-060 11:13 PM · 2 min — Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II, and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 pm and 11:14 pm.
  • 045-061 11:14 PM · 1 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Anne L. Armstrong talked on the telephone from 11:14 pm to 11:15 pm.
  • 045-062 11:15 PM · 3 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and George H. W. Bush talked on the telephone from 11:15 pm to 11:18 pm.
  • 045-063 11:21 PM · 55 sec — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Claude S. Brinegar talked on the telephone from 11:21 pm to 11:23 pm.
  • 045-064 11:23 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:23 pm and 11:24 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-059, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-059 (accessed October 23, 2026).