Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 803 › Conversation 803-021

Nixon & Woods on Soviet relations and Anatoliy Dobrynin

Wednesday, October 18, 1972 · 3:20 PM–3:21 PM ET · Oval Office ·1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Woods, Rose MaryConversation803-021 onTape 803StartWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 3:20 PMEndWednesday, October 18, 1972 at 3:21 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 803-021 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to coordinate his upcoming schedule and manage administrative priorities. The discussion centered on organizing meetings with Soviet officials, including Ambassador Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, and addressing legislative matters such as the recent rejection of a spending limit. The President also deliberated on the necessary messaging and involvement of staff members John Ehrlichman and Caspar Weinberger regarding these congressional relations.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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We're doing a lot of business around here in Brooklyn.
That's the reason many of your board members are all on the left.
That's because you're here more often than the caucuses.
They're beginning to object.
All right, fine.

NARA Description

On October 18, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:20 pm to 3:21 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 803-021 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 803-21

Date: October 18, 1972
Time: 3:20 pm - 3:21 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

        The President's schedule
            -Meetings with Soviet officials
                 -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                 -Frequency
                     -Congress
            - [John M. (“Jack”) Lynch]

        Congressional relations
           Spending limit rejection
                -Statement
                     -John D. Ehrlichman
                     -Casper W. (“Cap”) Weinberger

Woods left at 3:21 pm.

                                         (rev. Nov-03)

Also recorded on October 18, 1972

  • 031-119 2:37 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr., and Gerald R. Ford talked on the telephone from 2:37 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 803-017 2:37 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:37 pm to 2:39 pm.
  • 031-121 2:39 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:39 pm and 5:43 pm.
  • 803-018 2:40 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Nikolai S. Patolichev, Anatoliy F. Dobrynin, William P. Rogers, Peter G. Peterson, Peter M. Flanigan, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:40 pm to 3:16 pm.
  • 803-019 3:16 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:16 pm and 3:20 pm.
  • 803-020 3:16 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:16 pm and 3:20 pm.
  • 803-022 3:21 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:21 pm to 5:43 pm.
  • 804-001 3:21 PM · 1 hr 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, John D. Ehrlichman, Stephen B. Bull, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., Rose Mary Woods, unknown person(s), Alexander M. Haig, Jr., White House operator, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:21 pm to 5:43 pm.

All 86 conversations from October 18, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 803-021, October 18, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/803-021 (accessed September 18, 2026).