Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 809 › Conversation 809-001

Nixon & Woods on Radio broadcast and National defense

Saturday, October 28, 1972 · 8:45 AM–9:00 AM ET · Oval Office · 11 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; [Unknown person(s)]Conversation809-001 on Tape 809StartSaturday, October 28, 1972 at 8:45 AMEndSaturday, October 28, 1972 at 9:00 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 809-001 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, and unidentified staff to finalize revisions for a radio address scheduled for October 29, 1972. The discussion focused on crafting a critique of his opponent's national defense proposals by contrasting the status of U.S. nuclear forces in 1962 against the state of affairs in 1969. Nixon emphasized the necessity of highlighting the Soviet Union's nuclear buildup during a period of American inaction, directing staff to incorporate these points into the final speech draft.

Audio

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NARA Description

On October 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:45 am to 9:00 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 809-001 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 809-1

Date: October 28, 1972
Time: 8:45 am - 9:00 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

        Speech draft revisions for October 29, 1972 radio broadcast
            -National defense
                -Opponent’s proposals
                -1962 compared to 1969

An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 8:45 am.

        Instruction

The unknown person left at an unknown time before 9:00 am.

        Speech draft revisions for October 29, 1972 radio broadcast

An unknown person entered and left at an unknown time before 9:00 am.

        Speech draft revisions for October 29, 1972 radio broadcast
            -Status of U.S. nuclear forces
                 -January 1969
                 -Size of US superiority
                 -Soviet Union's nuclear buildup
                      -US inaction
                 -Compared to Soviet Union
            -Page notation
            -Instructions on draft changes

Woods left at 9:00 am.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 5% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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).

It says here, we're going to be in pain.
Here, these are the specific proposals they have made.
These are the specific proposals.
I'll wear one.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay.
No, no, that ain't the test.
That's what we're on.
That's what we're on.
All right, from 1962 to 1969.
Before...
January 1969, when I came into office.
However, when I came into office in January 1969, I found that this movie of superiority no longer existed.
This massive movie of superiority
No longer, I was no longer, no longer just.
For seven years, for six years.
And.
Move forward.
Imagine a nuclear buildup.
Imagine a buildup over there, nuclear forces, while the United States is standing still.
As a result, today, the United States and Soviet Union are on the heels of nuclear capabilities.
Today, it's not.

— 1 min 55 s with no transcribed speech —

Thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.

Also recorded on October 28, 1972

  • 809-002 9:10 AM · 1 hr 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, unknown person(s), Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, and Charles W. Colson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 10:26 am.
  • 032-078 9:24 AM · 1 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 9:24 am to 9:27 am.
  • 809-003 10:26 AM · 26 sec — Manolo Sanchez, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 032-079 9:22 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:22 pm and 9:34 pm.
  • 032-080 9:34 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:34 pm to 9:53 pm.

Cite this conversation

Conversation 809-001, October 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/809-001 (accessed November 9, 2026).