Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 614 › Conversation 614-017

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on Diplomatic travel and West Africa

Thursday, November 4, 1971 · 4:54 PM–4:55 PM ET · Oval Office · 53 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation614-017 on Tape 614 (tape position 01:46:52–01:47:45)StartThursday, November 4, 1971 at 4:54 PMEndThursday, November 4, 1971 at 4:55 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 614-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon discuss potential diplomatic travel plans for the First Lady to West African nations, specifically countries neighboring Liberia. The conversation focuses on the strategic importance of demonstrating American support for regional development and education initiatives. They finalize the decision to coordinate with the ambassador to put these travel arrangements into motion as a gesture of international goodwill.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hi.
Frank, Mr. Gano, just in, you know.
And, uh, his, uh, without me, uh, he was, he got to my party.
He strongly asked that you come by there, because this happened in our first country, which is next door to Liberia.
So I told him we'd ask you, but I said you should, just in a couple days.
He says they're, they would, would love to have you, and, and, you know.
He's able to put this in the UN, and that's the reason I'm seeing him.
It's very, really, we want to show that we really care about them, their schools and all that sort of thing.
So I just want you to know that I think I'm going to tell them here to put it in motion.
I'm going to confess to the ambassador earlier this morning.
That would be the two countries to go to, which I think would be very good.
Good.
All right.

NARA Description

On November 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:54 pm to 4:55 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 614-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 614-017

Date: November 4, 1971
Time: 4:54 pm - 4:55 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat’) Nixon.

[See Conversation No. 13-124]

Also recorded on November 4, 1971

  • 013-123 4:50 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:50 pm and 4:54 pm.
  • 614-014 4:50 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:50 pm and 4:54 pm.
  • 614-015 4:50 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:50 pm and 4:54 pm.
  • 614-016 4:50 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:50 pm and 4:54 pm.
  • 013-124 4:54 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 4:54 pm to 4:55 pm.
  • 013-125 4:55 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 4:57 pm.
  • 614-018 4:55 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:55 pm to 5:06 pm.
  • 013-126 4:57 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 4:57 pm to 4:59 pm.

All 58 conversations from November 4, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 614-017, 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/614-017 (accessed October 12, 2026).