Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 714 › Conversation 714-021

Nixon, Hope & Ziegler on Rose Garden and Photography

Thursday, April 20, 1972 · 4:21 PM–4:24 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Hope, Lelsie T. ("Bob"); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Atkins, Oliver F. ("Ollie")Conversation714-021 onTape 714 (tape position 04:06:44–04:10:11)StartThursday, April 20, 1972 at 4:21 PMEndThursday, April 20, 1972 at 4:24 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 714-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with entertainer Bob Hope, Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler, and photographer Ollie Atkins to discuss logistics for an upcoming photo session in the Rose Garden. The group coordinated the use of flags and specific lighting for the shots, while also briefly reflecting on Hope’s golf game and past encounters. Additionally, they touched upon potential comedic material regarding the President’s attendance at an American Society of Newspaper Editors reception, specifically mentioning pandas and columnist Jack Anderson.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 48.7 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 04:06:44 into the tape and ends around 04:10:11.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

4:07:07It is not a running chance.

4:07:14Oh.

4:07:58We're all set now, Patricia.

4:08:02Well, she told me on the phone show, someone just told me she wasn't going home.

4:08:12Maybe I should call her and tell her.

4:08:14Well, I'm sorry.

4:08:14I'll speak to her.

4:08:15I'm going to report to you.

4:08:26Okay.

4:08:28I think I'll go up there any minute.

4:08:32I think I'm better off then.

4:08:34Get up there.

4:08:35Yeah.

4:08:35Maybe get there at 435 or so.

4:08:37I'll love it.

NARA Description

On April 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Lelsie T. ("Bob") Hope, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:21 pm to 4:24 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 714-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 714-21

Date: April 20, 1972
Time: 4:21 pm - 4:24 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Leslie T. (“Bob”) Hope, Ronald L. Ziegler and Oliver F. (“Ollie”)
Atkins.

     Greetings

     Hope's show

     Photographs
          -Rose Garden
               -Lighting
          -Flags

     Gift presentation
           -Putter
                 -Quality
                 -Hope’s trophy room
                 -Previous golf games with the President

     American Society of Newspaper Editors [ASNE] reception
         -Jokes
               -The President's attendance
               -Pandas
               -Jack N. Anderson

     Rose Garden
          -Photographs

The President et al. left at 4:24 pm.

Also recorded on April 20, 1972

023-056 3:15 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger talked on the telephone from 3:15 pm to 3:19 pm.
023-057 3:19 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:19 pm and 3:36 pm.
023-058 3:36 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 3:36 pm to 3:43 pm.
714-019 4:16 PM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:16 pm and 4:18 pm.
714-020 4:18 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:18 pm to 4:21 pm.
714-022 4:29 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lelsie T. ("Bob") Hope, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:29 pm to 4:48 pm.
714-023 4:48 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:48 pm and 4:49 pm.
714-024 4:49 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:49 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 56 conversations from April 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 714-021, April 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/714-021 (accessed September 18, 2026).