Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 213 › Conversation 213-018

Nixon phone call with Eisenhower on Camp David and Family meeting

Sunday, September 24, 1972 · 11:52 AM–11:56 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Eisenhower, Julie Nixon; Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation213-018 on Tape 213StartSunday, September 24, 1972 at 11:52 AMEndSunday, September 24, 1972 at 11:56 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 213-018 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 651228258 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon briefly met with his wife, Pat, and daughter, Julie, at Camp David to discuss evening entertainment. The family considered watching the film "War and Peace" or a Churchill documentary, with the President ultimately favoring the documentary.

  • Camp David
  • Family meeting
  • Evening plans
  • Film selection
  • War and Peace
  • Churchill documentary

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.9 MB

This clip of the conversation was cut from the tape by the National Archives (catalog record ↗).

NARA Description

On September 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:56 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 213-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 213-18

Date: September 24, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:52 am and 11:56 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President met with Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon.

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[Duration: 1m 11s     ]

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Mrs. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower left at an unknown time before 11:56 am.

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.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

NixonCome in.
EisenhowerFeel like the kids are working too hard.
NixonI'm going to go swimming, but [laughter]
EisenhowerLater on?
NixonI'm going to go probably a little later.
NixonYou having fun, I hope.
EisenhowerYeah, we really are.
NixonYou're glad you came up?
EisenhowerOh, I'm so glad.
NixonI called up the man and said, did you get Mommy anything? Said she didn't eat a damn thing last night.
EisenhowerI know. She's She's going to have a big lunch.
NixonShe ate something now, good deal.
EisenhowerWell, Daddy, you know, I was thinking if you still want to see War and Peace, we could eat real early and see it or something like that.
EisenhowerEat at 5:30 or something.
NixonI think Mommy wants to see it, though.
EisenhowerI think she might want to see War and Peace.
EisenhowerIf she does, [laughter] would you like to see War and Peace, Mom? The one with Audrey Hepburn.
NixonI like Hepburn, but I loved that movie last night.
EisenhowerOh, I'm so glad you like it. You know, Mom and me said she loved the movie last night.
Nixon[unintelligible]
NixonWell, the thing about War and Peace, the only difficulty is that [crosstalk] it's too long.
Eisenhower[crosstalk] It's too long.
NixonWell, I have a very, I've got three or four speeches to do. I think maybe I'd like together to see the Churchill documentary tonight. How about that?
EisenhowerThat's an awfully great movie.
NixonLet's see that.
EisenhowerGood music.

Also recorded on September 24, 1972

  • 154-007 11:37 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:37 am to 11:52 am.
  • 213-016 11:37 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 11:37 am to 11:52 am.
  • 154-008 11:52 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:56 am.
  • 213-017 11:52 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 11:52 am and 11:56 am.
  • 154-009 11:56 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 11:56 am to 12:46 pm.
  • 213-019 11:56 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 11:56 am to 12:46 pm.
  • 154-010 12:46 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 1:01 pm.
  • 213-020 12:46 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 12:56 pm.

All 31 conversations from September 24, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 213-018, September 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 651228258). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/213-018 (accessed November 2, 2026).