Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 219 › Conversation 219-020
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on 1972 Presidential Campaign
Wednesday, October 11, 1972 · 4:45 PM–5:00 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 7 min
AI Summary
President Richard Nixon and H.R. Haldeman met at Camp David to coordinate the President's upcoming travel schedule to the South and finalize logistics for the accompanying press pool. They also discussed strategies to leverage negative campaign themes against George McGovern, specifically targeting his positions on amnesty, the Vietnam War, and prisoners of war to sharpen the distinction between the candidates. Additionally, the pair reviewed recent civil unrest, including a hostage incident in Washington, D.C., and evaluated the effectiveness of the local police force.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 22% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On October 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 4:45 pm to 5:00 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 219-020 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 219-20
Date: October 11, 1972
Time: 4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire
The President met with H.R. ("Bob") Haldeman.
The President's schedule
-Atlanta
-Florida
-Length of trip
-Henry A. Kissinger's travel plans
-Press pool
-Possible numbers
-Possible speech theme
-The South
-Material delivery
-Swimming
Hostage incident
-Interruption of baseball game on television
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Blacks
-Lorton
-District of Columbia jail
-Shirley Chisholm
-Washington, DC
-City employees
-Police force
-The President's view
-The President's October 10, 1972 meeting
-Crime
1972 election, media coverage
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Democratic campaign practices
-Kevin P. Phillips's paper
-Demonstrators
-Republican National Convention
-Robert J. Dole
-George S. McGovern
-San Francisco
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 7m 43s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
*****************************************************************
Issues
-[McGovern]
-Amnesty
-Vietnam War
-Prisoners of war [POWs]
-Bombers in Thailand
-South Vietnam
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 1m 53s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
*****************************************************************
The President's schedule
-Kissinger
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 13s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 3
*****************************************************************
Haldeman left at 5:00 pm.Also recorded on October 11, 1972
- 219-018 4:06 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 4:06 pm and 4:20 pm.
- 219-019 4:35 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 4:35 pm and 4:45 pm.
- 219-021 6:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:57 pm.
- 148-015 6:52 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:52 pm and 6:57 pm.
- 219-022 6:52 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:52 pm and 6:57 pm.
- 219-023 6:52 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 6:52 pm and 6:57 pm.
- 148-016 6:57 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at Camp David from 6:57 pm to 7:00 pm.
- 219-024 6:57 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 6:57 pm to 7:00 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 219-020, October 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/219-020 (accessed October 12, 2026).