Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 708 › Conversation 708-008

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on Canada and diplomacy

Thursday, April 13, 1972 · 4:34 PM–4:37 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation708-008 on Tape 708 (tape position 00:29:48–00:30:09)StartThursday, April 13, 1972 at 4:34 PMEndThursday, April 13, 1972 at 4:37 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 708-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon utilized this session to rehearse the French-language opening remarks for his upcoming diplomatic visit to Canada. He focused specifically on refining his greetings upon arrival in Ottawa. The President confirmed a minor edit by removing a specific sentence from his prepared speech text.

Audio

Download MP3 · 80.8 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:29:48 into the tape and ends around 00:30:09.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

29:54Okay, I have taken out that one sentence.

NARA Description

On April 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:34 pm and 4:37 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 708-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 708-8

Date: April 13, 1972
Time: Unknown between 4:34 pm and 4:37 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President resumed rehearsing French portions of a speech for his Canadian trip.

       Speech

            -Rehearsal in French
                 -The President's greetings upon his arrival in Ottawa

Also recorded on April 13, 1972

  • 708-003 4:28 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen Hess, Elena (Shayne) Hess, Charles P. Hess, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:28 pm to 4:31 pm.
  • 708-004 4:31 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 4:31 pm.
  • 708-005 4:31 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 4:31 pm.
  • 708-006 4:31 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Frank DeMarco, Jr., and John W. Dean, III met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:31 pm to 4:34 pm.
  • 708-007 4:34 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:34 pm and 4:37 pm.
  • 708-009 4:37 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:37 pm to 4:46 pm.
  • 022-123 4:38 PM · 9 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 4:46 pm.
  • 022-124 4:38 PM · 11 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:38 pm and 4:46 pm.

All 22 conversations from April 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 708-008, April 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/708-008 (accessed October 1, 2026).