Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 608 › Conversation 608-003

Nixon & Woods on UN Taiwan vote and Official portraits

Friday, October 29, 1971 · 6:35 PM–6:42 PM ET · Oval Office · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation608-003 on Tape 608 (tape position 01:04:10–01:09:58)StartFriday, October 29, 1971 at 6:35 PMEndFriday, October 29, 1971 at 6:42 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 608-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and personal secretary Rose Mary Woods met to discuss the management of various administrative matters and personal property within the White House. The conversation covered the placement of presidential gifts, including items from the Shah of Iran, and addressed logistical planning regarding the President's upcoming schedule and meetings with guests. Additionally, the pair touched upon political reactions to the recent United Nations vote to expel Taiwan and reviewed official portraiture.

Audio

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Position in tape: 01:04:10 – 01:09:58

1:04:21

608a.mp3

NARA Description

On October 29, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:35 pm to 6:42 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 608-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 608-3

Date: October 29, 1971
Time: 6:35 pm - 6:42 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

     Gifts for the President
           -Lithograph
                 -Placement in the White House
                 -Earl Mazo
           -Elephant
           -Photograph from Mohammed Reza Pahlavi [Shah of Iran]

     The President's face
          -Official portraits
                -Dwight D. Eisenhower

**********************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 35s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

**********************************************************************

     The President’s schedule
          Woods's schedule
               -Mr. and Mrs. Emil Mosbacher

     United Nations [UN]
          -Previous vote to expel Taiwan
               -Delegates reaction
                     -Videotape
                     -The President’s view

     The President's schedule
          -Josip Broz Tito

The President and Rose Mary Woods left at 6:40 pm.

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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I think he'd be better to go to a different place since he's been here.
All right.
We'll stop here.
Yeah.
Okay.
Time or the energy to look at a, well it's really a little bit grand now, a 17, period of 1776 that Farrell may know.
He's had it for quite a while for you and had it framed.
See whether, I'll just send it over to Starch if you want.
I think it's got a lot of good color and you might want it over outside of your office or something.
Right now it's open and it's in my office.
It's a, it's a big, no, no, it's the old, it's a lithograph thing.
What was the picture?
Not of the airplane, it's a, it's just colorful.
I think you don't want to involve us.
I'll drop by your office and see it.
Because we'll get it.
Okay, and we've got an album down there too that I think you might want to hand to your collection.
We also have a picture of a shop that you, which I think you'll want to send to storage.
It's a beautiful thing, but, no, it's beautiful.
And it's covered with a, the fact that it's a very expensive frame and all that, but they have done a picture of you, you know, when they're weaving it, whatever they do.
It's beautiful, but they, you know, they don't quite, I don't think they quite get your mouth or your eyes.
It's hard to do it.
Faces are different.
Some are harder to catch than others.
Mine is difficult.
You do notice, Rose, all these damn things that are done.
I mean, the portraits and the drawings and so forth, don't catch them.
They're not true, are they?
I can gather a hell of a lot of things, and it just turned out just fine.
Basically, it was easy to catch a photograph or anything else.
No.
I did.
Well, I mean, I guess you did.
They back here in France.
Oh, I haven't seen it before.
What am I supposed to do?
You would like me to put it up for a while.
I don't see it.
I don't see it.
I don't know.
Do you want to have a drink with us, or what are you going to do?
I have to read the month records of Pete.
Oh, you're going out today?
Well, yeah, I was at the greatest dinner with him about six times.
Oh, really?
So I thought I had to see him.
That's right.
They're nice people.
They are.
They're attractive.
They're attractive people, too.
They do a great job, the Japanese.
They do.
They're always smiling, always pleasant.
God.
What's with those?
You know, I just looked at some of that reruns of that call.
God.
Maybe they are terrible, but... Huh?
Yeah.
Aren't they?
Hey there, man.
I will have it up there.
All the way to the post.
Yes, I'm sure he is.

Also recorded on October 29, 1971

  • 013-039 4:11 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 4:55 pm.
  • 013-040 4:55 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John C. Whitaker talked on the telephone from 4:55 pm to 4:56 pm.
  • 608-001 5:20 PM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:20 pm to 6:08 pm.
  • 013-041 6:03 PM · 25 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 013-042 6:03 PM · 12 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:03 pm and 6:35 pm.
  • 608-002 6:19 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 6:19 pm to 6:35 pm.
  • 013-043 7:56 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:56 pm to 7:59 pm.
  • 013-044 7:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 7:59 pm to 8:01 pm.

All 64 conversations from October 29, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 608-003, October 29, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/608-003 (accessed November 14, 2026).