Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 300 › Conversation 300-016

Nixon & Colson on Indira Gandhi and Henry Kissinger

Thursday, November 4, 1971 · 3:47 PM–3:52 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.Conversation300-016 on Tape 300 (tape position 00:27:35–00:30:43)StartThursday, November 4, 1971 at 3:47 PMEndThursday, November 4, 1971 at 3:52 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 300-016 ↗

President Nixon and Charles Colson discuss preparations for a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the potential economic impact of upcoming unemployment statistics on the stock market. Nixon directs Colson to coordinate with Henry Kissinger to ensure high-level diplomatic outreach regarding the Gandhi visit. Additionally, the pair discusses maintaining pressure on the Pay Board to advance the administration’s economic objectives.

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Go.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
Hello.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What's new today?
Got Mrs. Gandhi coming on.
Great.
When do we plan it?
How can we get it out, Chuck?
I'm rather than Peterson.
May I just respectfully suggest that, uh, get Kissinger to shut him if there's any problem?
He knows about it?
Yeah.
Well, all right.
I'll have him call you.
Okay.
Good.
Good.
Yeah.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good.
All right, good, good.
Yeah, yeah.
Good.
Yeah.
All right, yeah.
Good.
Anything, what happened to Mark?
Anything down or up?
I was afraid to shorten it.
If it went up today, that's good.
Because tomorrow's unemployment, I am confident.
That's the only thing I think might shoot the market up.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Yeah.
Right.
Good.
Well, let me say this, that this is a great triumph on this brain thing.
And what do you want?
I'll just tell Henry to call you and that he should get your brain under the phone at the highest level and get this done.
Is that what you want to say?
Yeah?
All right, done.
I'll get him right now.
All right.
And a pay board.
Yeah.
Just keep the heat on.
Yeah.
It's great, it's great.
Just say that we don't know if anything's gonna happen, but ask his advice, what the hell we can do, and hop in here if everything's great.
Okay.
Yeah.
Great.

On November 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:47 pm to 3:52 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 300-016 of the White House Tapes.

Conversation No. 300-016

Date: November 4, 1971
Time: 3:47 pm - 3:52 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Charles W. Colson.

[See Conversation No. 13-121]
  • 013-121 3:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 3:47 pm to 3:52 pm.
  • 300-017 3:52 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:52 pm and 3:55 pm.
  • 614-009 3:55 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 614-010 3:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 614-011 3:55 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:02 pm.
  • 013-122 4:02 PM · 1 min — Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Kofi A. Busia, and Peter G. Peterson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:02 pm and 4:39 pm.
  • 614-012 4:02 PM · 47 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Kofi A. Busia, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:02 pm to 4:48 pm.
  • 614-013 4:48 PM · 31 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:48 pm and 4:50 pm.

Conversation 300-016, November 4, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/300-016 (accessed September 30, 2026).