Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 614 › Conversation 614-018

Nixon & Haldeman on White House logistics and Guest lists

Thursday, November 4, 1971 · 4:55 PM–5:06 PM ET · Oval Office · 11 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation614-018 on Tape 614 (tape position 01:47:45–01:59:06)StartThursday, November 4, 1971 at 4:55 PMEndThursday, November 4, 1971 at 5:06 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 614-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discussed logistics for Pat Nixon’s upcoming travel schedule to Ghana and surrounding African nations, focusing on coordinating invitations and press coverage. The conversation transitioned to managing White House dinner guest lists and administrative decisions regarding which staff members and former ambassadors should receive invitations. Nixon also coordinated travel arrangements for a trip to Florida, emphasizing the inclusion of loyal, long-serving staff members over others, while noting the public popularity of Henry Kissinger.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 5 minutes of this recording (about 44% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Well, I just got back.
I'm going to go ahead and knock on the door.
I'm going to go ahead and tell, uh, tell Hayden and the boys that this mix is flowing.
We're going to have to go through the rain.
We're going to be fast.
We're going to give you an invitation.
Make it two days from the very beginning.
We're going to get an invitation.
We get various invitations, but I will not, no country in Africa that didn't support us.
I think those should be great things, right?
That's the one I think.
We'll find out if there's one there in Africa next door that didn't support us.
It should be good.
Yeah.
Nothing further on the table before I get involved with these guys.
Right.
Right.
Good.
Yeah.
Where to, mister?
No, I told him.
I told him.
I told him about that.
to, uh, go forward on this, uh, screen.
Well, you, you gentle now, just say that, uh, please, please, God, do us an okay.
End it, end it with no, no game.
One, two, five.
Five.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It should have turned out because of the wholesale price, but I think on the other hand, I'm sure it's not hers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's all right.
At least it's in the right direction.
Yeah.
Who knows?
Good.
No, but I can't give you so many.
They could have at least given priorities.
There's bowls, been a bastard in India twice, was hosted me when I was there, and to his credit, was decent.
You know what I mean?
Was decent.
I would have been, you know, rather than some of the jackasses we have here on... Well, they're very jackasses, you know.
Well, I think that's right.
He just came out on Sunday, got a good study of jackasses.
Oh, I am.
Yeah, this is awesome.
Yeah, yeah, I forget.
No, no, this is Indian.
That's right.
Now, as a matter of fact, let me say, let me say, I'm not a big concern about it.
I just want to make sure that I didn't move and that I didn't slip up on them.
So, don't worry about it.
All right.
Well, that's good.
That's fine.
That's fine.
I've tried it twice.
Hell, let's say, in all those years when you were out of office, they never invited you to a damn thing.
So, why do they invite you in?
They're supposed to entertain us, right?
Sure, we don't do that sometimes.
Are you part of your gang?
Well, we're doing that here.
But I wouldn't put him on except to say that there get to be some cases, so many former ambassadors that you know the whole section is filled with jerks.
I told Rose, yeah they already, I told Rose five, see, we ordered, we got another country for Pat's sake, right here in town, right?
Oh good.
I put her right here, so she's going to get that one.
We get one for her, but it's on her.
I think I should have tried to get this out tomorrow.
I don't know if it's this next month or whatever.
It's to get hold of the ambassador and say that we, this next week, we'll be glad to come.
When do they come?
Do they like the issue?
Let's get an issue now.
It'd be well ironed.
It's hot.
See?
When she accepts it, could we make it?
Because there's so much pressure.
They have to go around us this year.
Yeah.
But I don't know how the press is asking if we can do it.
Now, over there in front of you.
Yeah.
This side.
Oh, wait.
Yeah.
And I told Bob, I talked to Bob about the State of the Interest, he totally agrees.
Well, the State of the Interest is everything else, but everybody, and that's a very few people, one cap will obviously close the Secretary of State, or two sometimes, maybe just for, so that it looks, it's got to be, it's just... Like you'll have to have, you'll have to have defense, for example.
I have state defense with Brazil and one other, and then I have...
But by all these other secretaries, the rest are coming to Christmas party, and if they don't want to, let them go.
Now, we've had lots of new times.
We've done that.
We have done it.
We've made a round of fun.
Yeah, I get it.
And thank you to the White House staff.
Not only do you come, except those.
That's right.
Have a fair afternoon.
And for action, that's really the truth.
You've got to have that.
Because, right.
But you don't have to have that all the time.
It's in copper.
Is that what it's called?
Song belts.
They push every time.
It ain't going to be anymore.
And so it's not going to be anybody else rose, anybody else not.
I mean, now the writers and all the rest and so forth and so on.
They're going to come back to them, but they don't need to come to the interstate.
I don't know that's what I want to hear.
They don't need to come, but they've been to an inter... One is enough.
One is enough.
They can't even all expect to get to a state that... What?
They can't even all expect to get to a state that...
They've all been there.
They've all been there.
This book, and except for one or two, most of them don't give a damn about coming again.
Except Tanner.
He's the one who comes.
I don't know why he comes.
Why does he want to come?
Now, he's drunk.
He's out in Rochester then.
Rocking his nails.
Huh.
He feels it's important to him.
Well, I think it is.
And also, I heard about all of those.
I've even listened about it.
Also, it's very important to the Santa Monica guests.
They love seeing you there.
Oh, slugger.
That's what we do.
I mean, four guests all want to see Kissinger.
So it's domestic.
So it's worth doing.
Henry walks up to Dragway this morning to go to the arrivals ceremony, and people clap for him as he goes along there.
I'll be damned.
I bet that makes you love him.
Oh, I would.
Rose, you, uh, I just talked to Bob.
We'd like very much for you to go to Florida if you'd like.
Pat's not going.
But I've invited Henry, and he's going, I think.
I think he is.
I don't know.
I don't think he's ever been.
I just hope that some of the people, and this is the human, but if not,
been that were with us from the beginning.
I mean, we can't take junior people, but I can't take them.
Because the other ones, well, they're around a lot of times.
They work.
They don't ask for anything.
And they do a lot of damage to the workforce.
But if you're using anybody else in the staff with that type of role, it would mean an awful lot for you to go.
But again, they won't be doing anything to me.
So they go on Air Force One.
They go out.
Ray isn't.
What we've done, Ray, we've done a Sapphire, we've done a Ducat.
We've done everybody on the research staff.
But if you're somebody in the letter writing or something like that.
How about Scotland?
No, that's a different thing.
Well, sometimes it would be good to take Scotland and his wife, because they've been down to see this game.
Yeah.
They used to go there.
About things that go when we go.
I used to go in that.
We have a special thing for that.
Is there anybody else you can think of on our staff that it would really have helped me to?
I'll just turn around and throw it over there.
I suppose it's just racing, Jenny.
Other than that.
He's never been on that plane.
No, I don't think so.
No, no.
I don't think so.
I can't.
For the wife, I don't necessarily know.
All right, if there's anything I have to talk to her about, I'll just check another time.
I'll look at this one.

NARA Description

On November 4, 1971, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 614-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 614-018

Date: November 4, 1971
Time: 4:55 pm - 5:06 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

     Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon’s schedule
          -Ghana
                -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                -Ambassador
                      -Invitation
                -Duration of visit
          -African nations
                -United Nations [UN] vote on Taiwan, Republic of China
                      -Ivory Coast

The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and
4:57 pm.

[Conversation No. 614-18A]

[See Conversation No. 13-125]

[End of telephone conversation]

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

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2
[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 06/05/2019.
Segment will remain closed.]
[Personal Returnable]
[614-018-w002]
[Duration: 18s]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 2

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

The President talked with Charles W. Colson between 4:57 pm and 4:59 pm; Haldeman
conferred with the President at an unknown time during the conversation.

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[Conversation No. 614-18B]

[See Conversation No. 13-126]

[End of telephone conversation]

Rose Mary Woods entered at an unknown time after 4:59 pm.

     Guest lists for White House dinners
          -Chester Bowles
                 -The President’s trip to India
                      -Treatment of the President
          -Indians
          -Democrats [?]
          -Former ambassadors

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 4:59 pm.

     The President's schedule

Bull left at an unknown time before 5:06 pm.

     Mrs. Nixon's schedule
          -Ghana
               -Issuance of invitation
                     -Ambassador
                     -Press
                     -Kofi A. Busia

     Guest lists for White House dinners
          -The President's conversation with Haldeman
          -Cabinet
          -Staff
          -William P. Rogers
          -Helmut (“Hal”) Sonnenfeldt
          -The President's speechwriters
          -Henry A. Kissinger
                 -Rogers
                 -Popularity

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                       -Reception

     The President's schedule
          -Trip to Florida
                -Woods
                -Mrs. Nixon
                -Kissinger
                -Unknown man
                -Leonard Garment and John C. Whitaker
                -Air Force One
                -Raymond K. Price, Jr., William L. Safire and Patrick J. Buchanan
                -Rex W. Scouten
                -Mrs. Nixon
                -Ronald L. Ziegler
                -Whitaker, Garment
                -Frank J. Shakespeare
                      -Wife, Deborah Anne (Spaeth)Shakespeare

The President, Haldeman and Woods left at 5:06 pm.

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.
  • 614-017 4:54 PM · 53 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 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 614-018, 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/614-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).