Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 404 › Conversation 404-001

Nixon & White on Lyndon B. Johnson and Condolences

Tuesday, January 23, 1973 · 8:55 AM–9:03 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 9 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White, William P.Conversation404-001 on Tape 404StartTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 8:55 AMEndTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 9:03 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 404-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with William P. White to express his condolences following the death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. The conversation focused on the personal and political treatment of Johnson by members of his own party, with Nixon expressing deep frustration toward those he felt had disloyally abandoned their former mentor. Both men shared reflections on their personal histories with Johnson and lamented the lack of support he received from Democratic allies toward the end of his life.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 32% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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at all.
Bill, I knew how close you were to President Johnson, and I wanted to know that we all, of course, feel the deepest sympathy at this point for not only his family, but for his close friends.
I thought you might be interested in other, too, but of course, I know.
I talked to him about it.
The day after we were doing the research, the last night, about what we were going to do.
I said, I don't know.
I said, I don't know.
I said, I don't know.
I said, I don't know.
Here.
But on this occasion, as well, this is right after I...
So it all comes out.
I said, well, I didn't want to do this, but I don't believe it.
And I think it's in my right to know your place in this profession.
The interesting thing is that, obviously, development may occur very soon.
Sometimes it may occur very soon.
But it's not without it.
He was unable to live to see that what I told him on January 2nd will come true.
So I thought you'd know that little bit of history.
And he said that, he also said, he said, that's all right.
Well, I said, I should look at the same people and tell you where.
So we had a good time.
Well, let me tell you, after all that,
about how much I said to him, because throughout the career, I couldn't have said anything without telling him.
That's really nice.
Absolutely.
He had very good reason to tell me.
I couldn't tell him.
I didn't say it.
But I told him that he was extremely proud of me.
Anyway, he's up there.
He's looking at it.
And I just want to acknowledge some of those people.
And it's mostly his own party just viciously coming up.
I hope.
The press, we all understand.
The press, we understand.
That's the job of the press.
The press, the job is for people.
It's all of us here.
And frankly, most of the readers that we know are just...
But they'd agree with it.
But to find it in his own party, people that he made, people that he made, who didn't go down to that ranch and see them before and after the Democratic convention, that cut it really quick.
It cut it really quick.
Yet people didn't come see them.
Yeah.
Now, it would have changed over a period of time.
Well, you take Herbert Hooper.
Herbert Hooper, of course, went down
Johnson.
It hasn't happened that way.
I think it would have after this was over over a period of time.
But there are some people, believe me, Bill, there are some people in this party that should be damned ashamed of what they have done.
What do you think?
You understand?
For them to do it to me, I understand that.
For all of them to do it to him when he made them.
And, you know, everyone else, I understand.
I have to read everything that I have to read.
Anyway, it'll come out, and I appreciate your good call, but I'll appreciate it when they're not, because I know you got it.
I know you call them live to see it.

NARA Description

On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William P. White met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:55 am to 9:03 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 404-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 404-1

Date: January 23, 1973
Time: 8:55 am-9:03 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with William P. White.

[See Conversation No. 36-63]

Also recorded on January 23, 1973

  • 839-005 8:32 AM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:32 am and 8:52 am.
  • 036-063 8:55 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William S. White talked on the telephone from 8:55 am to 9:03 am.
  • 036-064 9:03 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:03 am and 9:10 am.
  • 404-002 9:03 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:03 am and 9:10 am.
  • 036-065 9:10 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Richard T. Kennedy talked on the telephone from 9:10 am to 9:14 am.
  • 036-067 9:14 AM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.
  • 404-003 9:14 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Richard T. Kennedy met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 9:14 am.
  • 404-004 9:14 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:14 am to 9:15 am.

All 94 conversations from January 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 404-001, January 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/404-001 (accessed October 1, 2026).