Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 413 › Conversation 413-001
Nixon & Wilkinson on Oklahoma politics and Republican party
Friday, February 23, 1973 · 2:36 PM–2:48 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 10 min
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Bud Wilkinson to discuss a variety of personal and political matters, ranging from sports and the upcoming Olympic committee roles to potential Republican candidacies for governor and senate seats in Oklahoma. Nixon encouraged Wilkinson to pursue a political office, citing a lack of quality candidates in the current landscape and noting that Oklahoma would benefit from his leadership. The pair also touched upon the return of prisoners of war from Vietnam and potential future diplomatic or administrative assignments for Wilkinson.
- Oklahoma politics
- Republican party
- Bud Wilkinson
- Elections
- Olympic Games
- Vietnam War
- Prisoners of war
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 17% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On February 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Charles B. ("Bud") Wilkinson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:36 pm to 2:48 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 413-001 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 413-1
Date: February 23, 1973
Time: 2:36 pm-2:48 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Charles B. Wilkinson.
******************************************************************************
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift during
chronological review 2007-2013]
Sports
-Football
-Basketball
-Track
-Golf
-Baseball
-World Series
-Television [TV] compared with live viewing
-Pace
-Games
-Arkansas-Oklahoma
-Texas-Nebraska [?]
-President as spectator
-Replays
Wilkinson
-Business
-Plans
-Candidacy
-Governor
-Announcement
Oklahoma politics
-2-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 413-39 (cont’d)
-Governor David Hall
-George S. McGovern
-Dewey F. Bartlett
Candidacy for political office
-Nomination
Republican candidates
-Poor quality
-Chances of success
-Jack R. Miller
-Golf
-Margaret Chase Smith
-Age
-J. Caleb Boggs
-House of Representatives
Wilkinson’s candidacy
-Governor of Oklahoma
-President’s possible visit
-Hall
-Qualities
Henry L. Bellmon
-Oklahoma
-Polling
-Political make up
Wilkinson’s potential candidacy
-Next Senate race
******************************************************************************
Olympics bid
-Anti-American sentiment
-Committee
-Wilkinson as head
-3-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 413-39 (cont’d)
-Input on members
-College
-Independent study
-Olympics
-1972 Munich Games incident
-Richard A. Moore
-Public relations [PR]
-Wilkinson’s role
-Berlin [?]
-Winter Olympics
-Colorado
-Denver Post
Wilkinson’s schedule
-Moore
-Oklahoma, Dallas
Prisoners of war [POWs] return
-Emotion
-Congress [?]
-POW from Oklahoma
-Col. Robinson Risner [?]
-December 1972 bombing
Vietnam War
-Henry A. Kissinger
-“Establishment”
-Old “Establishment”
-Removal
-Credibility
Fundraising
Ping pong [?]
Europe [?]
-France
-4-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 413-39 (cont’d)
Ambassador
Future conversation with Wilkinson
Wilkinson left at 2:48 pm.Also recorded on February 23, 1973
- 862-021 2:30 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:36 pm.
- 862-022 2:30 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:30 pm and 2:36 pm.
- 862-024 2:36 PM · 39 sec — Unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 2:36 pm on February 23, 1973 and 8:58 am on February 26, 1973.
- 863-001 2:36 PM · 6 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 2:36 pm on February 23, 1973 and 9:50 pm on February 24, 1973.
- 863-002 2:36 PM · 26 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 2:36 pm on February 23, 1973 and 9:50 pm on February 24, 1973.
- 863-003 2:36 PM · 29 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 2:36 pm on February 23, 1973 and 8:58 am on February 26, 1973.
- 413-002 2:48 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 3:02 pm.
- 413-003 2:48 PM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:48 pm and 3:02 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 413-001, February 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/413-001 (accessed October 1, 2026).