Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-069

Nixon, Cox & Hughes on Watergate and Presidential Address

Monday, April 30, 1973 · 11:41 PM–11:42 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Cox, Tricia Nixon; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Hughes, James D. ("Don")Conversation045-069 on Tape 45StartMonday, April 30, 1973 at 11:41 PMEndMonday, April 30, 1973 at 11:42 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-069 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon received a supportive telephone call from Major General James D. Hughes following the President's televised address regarding the Watergate scandal. Joined briefly by Tricia Nixon Cox during the call, Nixon expressed personal gratitude for Hughes's loyalty and his positive feedback on the speech. The exchange served primarily as a morale-boosting communication between the President and a military aide during a period of significant political instability.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Are you?
I have General Hughes for the president.
General Hughes?
Right.
All right.
Hello.
Hello.
Good morning, Mr. President.
Hi, John.
How are you?
Fine, sir.
I thought your speech was superb.
Thank you very much.
And it came through loud and clear over here, sir.
Fine, John.
Fine.
Well, we appreciate your...
Your loyalty, your love, and Rose is sitting here, and David, and they all say you're a hell of a fellow, and I say, well, I don't know.
I don't believe it, Mr. President.
I'm just delighted to hear from you, but I think you said what had to be said beautifully.
Thank you very much, John.
It's so good of you to call and tell the boys to keep the faith.
I certainly will, sir, and we're thinking of you all the time.
Thank you.
I know that, John, and thank you so much for calling.
Yes sir.
Goodbye sir.

NARA Description

On April 30, 1973, White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and James D. ("Don") Hughes talked on the telephone from 11:41 pm to 11:42 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-069 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-69

Date: April 30, 1973
Time: 11:41 pm - 11:42 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with Tricia Nixon Cox.

     Telephone call from Maj. Gen. James D. (“Don”) Hughes

Tricia Nixon Cox conferred with the President.

[Begin conferral]
                                              -50-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                               Conversation No. 45-69 (cont’d)

     Telephone call from Hughes

[End conferral]

The President talked with Hughes.

     Watergate
          -President’s speech
          -President’s appreciation of Hughes
                -Rose Mary Woods
                -[Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
          -President’s speech

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 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.
  • 045-065 11:24 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:24 pm to 11:28 pm.
  • 045-066 11:28 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:28 pm and 11:30 pm.
  • 045-067 11:30 PM · 14 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 11:30 pm.
  • 045-068 11:36 PM · 41 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 11:36 pm to 11:37 pm.
  • 045-070 11:47 PM · 3 min — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Robert H. Abplanalp, and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:47 pm and 11:49 pm.
  • 045-071 11:49 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:49 pm and 11:50 pm.
  • 045-072 11:50 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:50 pm and 11:53 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-069, 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/045-069 (accessed October 5, 2026).