Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 642 › Conversation 642-040

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on William P. Rogers

Monday, January 3, 1972 · 12:43 PM–12:45 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation642-040 on Tape 642 (tape position 05:42:59–05:44:32)StartMonday, January 3, 1972 at 12:43 PMEndMonday, January 3, 1972 at 12:45 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 642-040 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and an unidentified interlocutor discuss political strategy regarding Secretary of State William P. Rogers and the administration's broader policy objectives. The dialogue centers on the political optics of current war efforts, election year preparations, and the implications of the President's scheduled travel to Moscow. These reflections underscore the administration's focus on managing perceptions of policy decisions ahead of the upcoming election cycle.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 05:42:59 – 05:44:32

part C, 1:43:06

642a.mp3
642b.mp3
642c.mp3

NARA Description

On January 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 642-040 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 642-40

Date: January 3, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with an unknown person.

     Memorandum from Robert H. Finch
        -Henry E. Ford, II
             -Government support
                   -Voluntary action
                   -Grant
             -The President’s schedule
                   -Possible attendance at National Center for Voluntary Action dinner,
                         February 10, 1972
             -Resignation
             -Forthcoming meeting with the President
                   -Purpose
             -Decision

     Finch
          -Location

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

We had a very excellent show this night.
Yeah.
It's all the usual types.
I mean, actually, the Rogers.
Yeah.
Old-course Rogers, basically.
Well, he was trying.
He was trying to do the worst of it, the most blameless word.
He said, well, you're, didn't you plan to end the war and postpone the war, postpone the going to Moscow, postpone the defeat of the electioneers?
That's right.
That's good and evil.

Also recorded on January 3, 1972

  • 642-037 12:18 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John W. Kauffman, Stephen M. Morris, Jack A. L. Hahn, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., James H. Cavanaugh, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:18 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 018-011 12:32 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:36 pm.
  • 018-012 12:32 PM · 8 min — the White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, President Richard M. Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:43 pm.
  • 642-038 12:32 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:36 pm.
  • 642-039 12:32 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:43 pm.
  • 642-041 12:43 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:43 pm and 12:45 pm.
  • 642-042 12:45 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Jack J. Dreyfus, Jr., and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:45 pm to 12:46 pm.
  • 642-028 12:46 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:46 pm and 2:07 pm.

All 84 conversations from January 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 642-040, January 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/642-040 (accessed November 15, 2026).