Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 618 › Conversation 618-001

Nixon & Mitchell on Political strategy and Public perception

Thursday, November 11, 1971 · 10:22 AM–10:26 AM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Mitchell, John N.Conversation618-001 on Tape 618 (tape position 00:00:55–00:05:01)StartThursday, November 11, 1971 at 10:22 AMEndThursday, November 11, 1971 at 10:26 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 618-001 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417179679 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and John Mitchell engaged in a brief, informal discussion regarding the reception of a recent political appearance, possibly in Chicago. The conversation focused on evaluating the public perception and efficacy of an unnamed individual's performance and endorsements. The meeting concluded with instructions to relay a message to a third party, referred to as 'the doctor,' though the specific identity and strategic intent remain obscured by the vague transcript.

Audio

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NARA Description

On November 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:26 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 618-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 618-1

Date: November 11, 1971
Time: 10:22 am - 10:26 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with John N. Mitchell.

[See Conversation No. 014-034]

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[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 03/31/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[618-001-w001]
[Duration: 52s]

[See Conversation No. 014-034-w001]

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

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

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 03/31/2022.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[618-001-w002]
[Duration: 1m 36s]

[See Conversation No. 014-034-w002]

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

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

What's your judgment on this man?

I'll see you very soon.

I know you're easy to talk to.

You do?

Looks like you have any crap in your shoes.

So do I.

Okay.

All right.

Give the message, message to the doctor.

Okay, stop.

I had talked to you since, and I wrote you a couple of books.

We got in there yesterday.

Just a few were mentioned.

What I mean, we got in Chicago, and it was really a fine, fine picture.

But I would come out of there, and there was death.

They get stood up, huh?

Yeah.

Everybody is, you know, like they said, he was really very good at this.

I mean, he was all out on his full range of rock and roll.

I mean, very strong endorsements, you know.

Did he do that?

That's what we heard, too.

Yeah, we were trying, but I don't want to operate there.

It's not easy to treat.

That's it.

Also recorded on November 11, 1971

014-034 10:22 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 10:22 am to 10:26 am.
618-002 10:26 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:35 am.
618-003 10:26 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Ehrlichman, John C. Whitaker, and Earl L. Butz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:51 am.
298-001 11:24 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
298-002 11:24 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
298-003 11:24 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
298-004 11:24 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:29 am.
298-005 11:29 AM · 1 hr 42 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), White House operator, and Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:29 am to 1:16 pm.

All 111 conversations from November 11, 1971 →

Nixon & Connally on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Lyndon B. Johnson July 24, 1972 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Eagleton affair and Political strategy July 25, 1972 · 6 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Public relations and Political strategy September 12, 1972 · 3 min
Nixon & Colson on political strategy and media criticism June 11, 1972 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Daley on Chicago and National Milk Producers Association August 11, 1971 · 2 min
Nixon phone call with Cox on Richard J. Daley and Chicago April 18, 1972 · 4 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 618-001, November 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417179679). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/618-001 (accessed November 2, 2026).