Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 46 › Conversation 046-119

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Ronald L. Ziegler

Sunday, May 20, 1973 · 9:53 PM–10:17 PM ET · White House Telephone · 13 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation046-119 on Tape 46StartSunday, May 20, 1973 at 9:53 PMEndSunday, May 20, 1973 at 10:17 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 046-119 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call through the White House operator to contact Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler. The conversation is strictly logistical in nature, serving only to facilitate direct communication with his spokesperson. No policy matters or substantive political issues are discussed during this exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Yes, please.
Ron Ziegler, please.
Yes, thank you, sir.

NARA Description

On May 20, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:53 pm and 10:17 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 046-119 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 46-119

Date: May 20, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:53 pm and 10:17 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler

Also recorded on May 21, 1973

  • 046-120 10:17 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 10:17 pm to 10:43 pm.
  • 046-121 10:43 PM · 34 sec — White House operator talked on the telephone on an unknown date, sometime between 10:43 pm on May 20, 1973 and 8:23 am on May 21, 1973.
  • 924-001 8:23 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 8:40 am.
  • 924-002 8:40 AM · 43 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:40 am to 9:23 am.
  • 924-003 9:23 AM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:23 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 439-001 10:16 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:16 am and 10:53 am.
  • 439-002 10:53 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:53 am to 11:13 am.
  • 046-122 11:13 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 am and 11:14 am.

All 47 conversations from May 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 046-119, May 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/046-119 (accessed October 12, 2026).