Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 224 › Conversation 224-003

Nixon, Longworth & Camp David Operator on 1972 Presidential Election

Monday, November 13, 1972 · 3:55 PM–5:01 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Camp David Operator; Longworth, Alice RooseveltConversation224-003 on Tape 224StartMonday, November 13, 1972 at 3:55 PMEndMonday, November 13, 1972 at 5:01 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 224-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held a phone conversation with Alice Roosevelt Longworth shortly after his 1972 landslide reelection victory. They discussed the overwhelming electoral results, the unfairness of press criticism during the campaign, and the status of Vietnam peace negotiations. Nixon expressed personal satisfaction in overcoming political adversaries and suggested a future social meeting to celebrate their shared conservative perspectives.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Well, how are you feeling?
I was, as a matter of fact, when I was on the floor, I said, well, when I get back, I'll give you a ring.
I'm at Camp David now.
I just
I just met with Paige back from Saigon.
And that incidentally is going just right.
Yeah, as you can imagine, we had the rats on those last few days when they were charging.
There was nothing going on.
But you can be sure it's all done.
I bet they...
They must be dying because, you know, they all were right to the last.
They were saying, oh, it's going to change and the polls come down.
And now they're stuck with it.
They're 61-38.
All they can say is we didn't win the Congress.
Well, that doesn't mean much, he says.
You must be getting a lot of reactions from people, your old friends.
Yeah.
Yeah, really.
Yeah, that's great.
That's great.
That's great.
Yeah, of course.
Of course, of course.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, you know, they talk about tactics and all of the water gate monster, but have you ever heard, I mean, a president attacked as roughly as we got, as the Shriver or whatever people took us on?
I mean, the names that they called them.
I mean, I look back to the time that, you know, your father was in, and they talked pretty rough in those days.
But they used a term like a rat or something like that.
But my God, the word world murder.
And as a matter of fact, he used the word rat himself.
And he said, even a rat would carnage will bite.
Yeah, I'll never forget that.
Yeah.
Well, but...
That language was nothing compared to what they used, though.
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
Right.
Well, actually, you know, they, uh, they, they, I really was proud of the family.
Julie and Tricia, they, they bang around in 30 states.
And, uh...
Right, right, right, right, right.
Let's start it.
Boy, how the times have changed.
Wow.
We'll do it.
But you're in good spirits, obviously.
Oh, come on.
So am I.
So you do realize that I will reach that magic age of 60 on January the 9th?
And that is really old for this office, you know, for this office.
I was reading a biography of your PR, and he died when he was 60, didn't he?
Didn't he?
Remember, he was, because he left the presidency when he was only 52.
Yeah.
Well, one thing I think that I think we really must appreciate, you know, when you stop and think after all the abuse we took that we
We took, we not only got 49 states, and Julie who went to Smith said we had to lose one.
I'm glad it was Massachusetts.
Because they treat it pretty rough up there.
But anyway, you get the words.
But we also, as it turned out, you know, we had the biggest, we had the biggest American margin and also the biggest, yes, oh yes, the biggest American margin and also the biggest, the biggest percentage spread.
It was big.
You see, it wasn't, it was,
Rod, the Vietnam thing, when the story comes out, I think you'll think we look pretty good because we knew, I knew three days before that we were going to go forward with everything.
Of course, but I couldn't say it because, you know, you want to blow it.
But it's all right.
It's all right.
I figured it.
And I knew we were going to take heat for it, but it was a little rough to have them say that the whole man thing was a hoax.
Well, you know, and to have some of our brethren in the press play it that way, like Peter Visego or people like him.
I'm a little bit shocked.
Well, all right.
Well, we'll get together and we'll have a little fun with some good reactionaries, if you don't mind.
Good.
Great.
I'll do it.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On November 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Camp David operator, and Alice Roosevelt Longworth met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 5:01 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 224-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 224-3

Date: November 13, 1972
Time: Unknown between 3:55 pm and 5:01 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with the Camp David operator.

[See Conversation No. 153-1]

The President talked with Alice Roosevelt Longworth between 5:01 pm and 5:07 pm.

[See Conversation No. 153-1]

[End of telephone conversation]

Also recorded on November 13, 1972

  • 814-001 9:05 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:05 am to 9:06 am.
  • 814-002 9:06 AM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:06 am and 9:09 am.
  • 814-003 9:09 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, and John V. Brennan met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:09 am to 9:57 am.
  • 224-001 3:08 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 3:08 pm to 3:55 pm.
  • 153-001 3:55 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Camp David operator, and Alice Roosevelt Longworth talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 5:07 pm.
  • 224-002 3:55 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John V. Brennan met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 5:01 pm.
  • 224-004 5:07 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 7:40 pm.
  • 224-005 5:07 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 5:07 pm and 7:40 pm.

Cite this conversation

Conversation 224-003, November 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/224-003 (accessed October 5, 2026).