Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 281 › Conversation 281-052

Nixon alone in his EOB office on Public address and Speech rehearsal

Thursday, October 21, 1971 · 5:43 PM–5:50 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 56 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation281-052 on Tape 281 (tape position 04:14:00–04:14:53)StartThursday, October 21, 1971 at 5:43 PMEndThursday, October 21, 1971 at 5:50 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 281-052 ↗

President Nixon utilized this session in his Old Executive Office Building suite to conduct a rehearsal for an upcoming public address. The meeting served as a final practice run, allowing the President to refine his delivery and pacing for the broadcast. This preparation ensured the President was adequately ready for his scheduled national communication later in October 1971.

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Position in tape: 04:14:00 – 04:14:53

281a.mp3
281b.mp3
281c.mp3

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

On October 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 281-052 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 281-52

Date: October 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President rehearsed a speech.

[A transcript of the final broadcast of this speech appears in Public Papers of the Presidents,
Richard M. Nixon, 1971, pp. 1053-1057]
  • 012-049 5:42 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 5:42 pm.
  • 012-050 5:42 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 5:42 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 281-050 5:42 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 5:42 pm.
  • 281-051 5:42 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:42 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 281-053 5:43 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
  • 281-054 5:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:43 pm and 5:50 pm.
  • 281-055 5:50 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:50 pm and 5:55 pm.
  • 012-051 5:52 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 5:52 pm to 5:53 pm.

Conversation 281-052, October 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/281-052 (accessed September 28, 2026).