Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 190 › Conversation 190-017
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on tape status and China policy
Wednesday, May 17, 1972 · 7:59 AM–8:05 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 4 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman briefly discussed administrative matters, including the completion of forms and the status of a tape. Nixon inquired about a "baby question" and then shifted to discussing "the China thing," indicating a need to proceed with certain actions related to China policy. The conversation was very short and largely unintelligible due to recording discontinuities.
- administrative forms
- tape status
- China policy
- Presidential directives
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
Listen to the full tape segment
Position in tape: 01:00:17 – 01:03:49
1:00:15
NARA Description
On May 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:59 am and 8:05 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 190-017 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 190-17 Date: May 18, 1972 Time: Between 7:59 and 8:05 am Location: Camp David Hard Wire The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman. [Discontinuities appear in the original recording] [See Conversation No. 131-23; two items have been withdrawn from this conversation]
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript was made by an AI model listening to the recording (gemini-3.8-flash) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Speaker names are the model's inference from the voices and the participant list. Words and names can still be wrong — verify against the audio and the finding aid before citing.
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Also recorded on May 17, 1972
- 131-021 7:46 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:46 am.
- 190-013 7:46 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:46 am.
- 131-022 7:50 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:50 am.
- 190-014 7:50 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:50 am.
- 190-015 7:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am.
- 190-016 7:50 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am.
- 190-018 8:05 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.
- 190-019 8:05 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.
Related conversations
- Nixon phone call with Kissinger on South Vietnam and Soviet-American relations April 13, 1971 · 5 min
- Nixon phone call with Buchanan on China policy and Media relations April 17, 1971 · 2 min
- Nixon phone call with Rogers on Middle East and Egypt May 28, 1971 · 3 min
- Nixon phone call with Rollins on Republican fundraising and China policy July 21, 1971 · 3 min
- Nixon phone call with Harris on Public opinion polling and Economy July 30, 1971 · 7 min
- Nixon phone call with Kissinger on China policy and William P. Rogers February 29, 1972 · 2 min
Cite this conversation
Conversation 190-017, May 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 648452970). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/190-017 (accessed November 2, 2026).