Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 209 › Conversation 209-004

Nixon phone call with Colson on Public relations strategy

Sunday, September 10, 1972 · 11:44 AM–12:14 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation209-004 on Tape 209StartSunday, September 10, 1972 at 11:44 AMEndSunday, September 10, 1972 at 12:14 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 209-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Charles Colson met at Camp David to discuss potential public remarks and White House outreach strategies. The conversation focused on evaluating the political risks of specific public statements and managing external invitations. They concluded by coordinating logistics for a future meeting and reviewing ongoing administrative tasks.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 42% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Oh, yeah.
Zeta Harris never killed him for us.
He won't kill it for them.
What do you see in other times that have never come into the league?
What is there to do?
Well, Carson,
Three thousand one.
Incidentally, one thing I noticed here is the calls to get some remarks.
I'm just not sure that that's something I want to do.
I mean, we can really get it turned down.
I just don't know whether it's worth inviting the White House.
Oh, hell yeah.
But if I call it, and then
Well,
Well, we know he wasn't.
Well, we've got a bunch of others, I guess.
But anyway, I'll see you tonight.
Right?
Not yet.
Okay.

NARA Description

On September 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 11:44 am to 12:14 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 209-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 209-4

Date: September 10, 1972
Time: 11:44 am - 12:14 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation no. 141-2; two items have been withdrawn from this conversation]

Also recorded on September 10, 1972

  • 141-001 10:00 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 11:44 am.
  • 209-003 10:00 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 11:44 am.
  • 141-002 11:44 AM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:44 am to 12:14 pm.
  • 209-005 12:14 PM · 13 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 1:15 pm.
  • 209-006 1:15 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 2:26 pm.
  • 209-007 1:15 PM · 13 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 2:26 pm.
  • 209-008 1:15 PM · 12 sec — Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 2:26 pm.
  • 178-001 2:26 PM · 8 sec — Unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at Camp David on an unknown date, sometime between 2:26 pm on September 10, 1972 and 1:05 pm on September 30, 1972.

All 10 conversations from September 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 209-004, September 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/209-004 (accessed October 9, 2026).