Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 225 › Conversation 225-027

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on Holiday planning

Thursday, November 16, 1972 · 8:43 AM–8:51 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation225-027 on Tape 225StartThursday, November 16, 1972 at 8:43 AMEndThursday, November 16, 1972 at 8:51 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 225-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon discussed logistical planning for the upcoming holiday season at Camp David. The conversation focused on the necessity of expanding their Christmas card mailing lists to include campaign supporters and key political contacts, as well as coordinating plans for a private Thanksgiving dinner. Furthermore, the President emphasized a shift in public relations strategy to prioritize engagement with individuals outside of Washington, D.C., rather than the local D.C. establishment.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
If he does, he'll stay.
If he does, he'll stay.
I don't believe it.
Yeah, yeah.
Great, great, great.
Yeah, right.
Oh, I see.
Well, I...
They were, they were, I mean, if I wasn't, some thought he wasn't, didn't want to say it, and some said he didn't, but I... What is it?
Yeah.
Well, I think we just have family dinner.
With all of the events coming up for the Christmas season, this will have to be a very big Christmas season, you know.
Hopefully, we ought to get up to thinking on that now, you know, the decorations coming up early and so forth.
But what I meant is that, and also the cards and everything, we've got to have an unusual large number.
I want to send them to, you know, a lot of people.
I'll do them when you let me know.
Don't worry about it.
But I meant to have in mind that we're going to have to crank about it.
We're going to have to do quite a few, you know, the people that have worked in the campaign and all that sort of thing.
You know what I mean?
Not the big ones, but the little ones.
Our lists are longer now.
You know what I mean?
This one.
Any way around Christmas.
Yeah, we try to reply to a few of their friends, and we've got forms for a hell of a lot so far, but it just meant the work that I guess is kicking everybody in the tail to get it done right now.
Sure.
Yeah.
You mean, what are they doing, sending them grave cards?
Yeah, I'll try to get at that today.
I've tried to get at that, and I agree that we ought to.
Well, on the Christmas card, I'm glad I could mention something.
Yeah, but I've got to have in mind that those can be very useful, too.
And I don't mean we're going to send those to millions, but like all of our chairmen and so forth, and our Labor chairman and Democrat chairman and all that sort of thing, as well as the community, we've got to have
I'll get right at it.
I've got to get him over here today as a matter of fact.
Yeah.
Yeah, we'll do that.
Okay.
Okay, on the Thanksgiving, though, I...
Some.
Some could get that, but just some.
I'll do that.
I'll do that.
I haven't thought of a Christmas card possibility, but I'll get at that right now and try to see how we can sort some of it out.
On the Thanksgiving thing, I mean, I don't think we really need to have a...
I think you just say we're going to have family dinner because we just haven't had... Can we say that?
What do you think?
Or do you have in mind something?
I mean,
Yeah, you know, like we have the old folks, we have the veterans, all that sort of thing.
It's only a week away, and let's just say that we're having family enter into my house.
And not plan a big deal of, I mean, I'm trying to plan a big deal.
I think we're too busy to do it right now, really.
And just say we're
saying i certainly hope that you can hopefully and then we may want to in order to let some special invited guests come rather than just have these people from washington you see the trouble with the regular tours is that many times you know those evening tourists or just the washington people come we want tourists are fine from out of the state but our whole ploy from now on has gotten to not
Columbia kids and all that, you know, they get too much.
Floyd's got to be the people from outside more.
That's my point.
The point is, though, we're going to try to put out some invitations.
Some invitations to think, oh, no, no, no, we want it.
Well, we'll see.
We'll see.
But the point, we wouldn't define them.
You don't understand.
I mean, if they're here, if they're going to be here, you know, that's what I mean.
Oh, good, good, good.
Good, good.
She stayed, came to dinner too?
Was she happy?
Feeling better?
Good.
Good.
Well, that's good.
That's good.
Yeah.
Hell, they won't.
Well, they'll use it all over America.
You see, you've got to assume.
I'm trying to get everybody to true this.
We don't want it here.
It doesn't matter.
Columbia is one of the few places we didn't carry.
By 80%.
So that's it.
Incidentally, the... Where is she going to be?
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, well, if you can come by, if not, why...
I'm going to stay here.
I've got to see Conley today.
Okay.

NARA Description

On November 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 8:43 am to 8:51 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 225-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 225-27

Date: November 16, 1972
Time: Between 8:43 am - 8:51 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

[See Conversation No. 153-30]

Also recorded on November 16, 1972

  • 153-029 8:30 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:30 am and 8:43 am.
  • 225-024 8:30 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:30 am and 8:43 am.
  • 153-030 8:43 AM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone at Camp David from 8:43 am to 8:51 am.
  • 225-028 8:51 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John G. Magner met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 1:35 pm.
  • 225-029 8:51 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 1:35 pm.
  • 225-030 8:51 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 1:35 pm.
  • 225-031 8:51 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:51 am and 1:35 pm.
  • 225-032 8:51 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 8:51 am and 1:35 pm.

All 30 conversations from November 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 225-027, November 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/225-027 (accessed October 9, 2026).