Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 818 › Conversation 818-004

Nixon, Dormann & Klein on National Enquirer and Media Relations

Tuesday, December 5, 1972 · 12:26 PM–12:30 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Dormann, Henry O.; Klein, Herbert G.; White House photographer; Bull, Stephen B.Conversation818-004 on Tape 818StartTuesday, December 5, 1972 at 12:26 PMEndTuesday, December 5, 1972 at 12:30 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 818-004 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417182037 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Henry O. Dormann and Herbert G. Klein to discuss media coverage and exchange personal gifts. The discussion touched on the circulation and content of the National Enquirer, including the involvement of Edward Nixon and potential photo features. Nixon expressed his appreciation for Dormann’s ongoing support and authorized the publication of various photographs featuring himself and his visitors.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry O. Dormann, Herbert G. Klein, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:26 pm to 12:30 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 818-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 818-4

Date: December 5, 1972
Time: 12:26 pm – 12:30 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry O. Dormann and Herbert G. Klein.The White House photographer
and Stephen B. Bull were present at the beginning of the meeting.

     Greetings

     Circulation [of National Enquirer]

     Photograph
         -Dormann’s meeting with the President as Vice President, 1953
              -Copy to the President

     The President’s appreciation for flower arrangement

     National Enquirer
          -Circulation
          -Edward C. Nixon
          -Advertising
          -Edward Nixon
               -Dedication of [Florida] plant

     White House gifts
         -Ashtray
         -Cuff links
              -Unknown person
              -Presidential seal
              -Pin for wife
                   -Flag
              -Dormann’s conversation with Leonard Garment
                                              - 12 -

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                               Conversation No. 818-8 (cont’d)

           -Ashtray
               -Presidential Seal
                    -Vice Presidential Seal

      Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
          -Unknown person

      Dormann’s gifts for the President

      The President’s appreciation for Dormann’s support

      Photographs
          -Publication in National Enquirer

      Klein’s schedule
           -Forthcoming reception honoring administration officials from California

Dormann, Klein and Bull left at 12:30 pm.

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).

All right.
Thank you.
All right.
All right.
Glad to see you.
Glad to see you.
I'll get that.
Very well.
Thank you.
All right.
Very prosperous, too.
I know.
I saw your circulation.
This is the last picture we took together.
You had me.
You were an arrow.
This had me by surprise.
Here you go.
That's a great.
It's really a light.
Well, we appreciated that.
Beautiful.
I know, I know, I know.
Shall I keep this?
Or do you want this?
Is this your copy?
You better keep it.
Fine.
You better keep it.
Thank you very much.
Now, let's see.
What do we have here?
The old image.
The presidential cup next to it.
This is the one that comes with the flag.
That's why it's in color.
There's a good distinction.
This is the most broken, and Mr. Graham was telling me just before he came in, that he had eaten some of the older ones.
Yeah, I know.
They were broken.
They were broken.
Well, they weren't there.
They weren't there.
It's frankly, I'm going to call on you.
These are better than those.
But you should have them.
I appreciate that.
I always have an old slime.
Here's what it is.
It's sealed.
Yes, I believe it was years ago.
All right.
How's he doing?
He's, uh, he looks a lot better than he is, but yeah, he's great.
Yeah, he's got that thing in the face.
He lost all his weight.
He just looks like hell the last time I saw him.
And the weight and all that.
But he feels great.
I used to play golf, but he still doesn't look very good.
He should give up.
He should give up.
I always have a feeling that when I think of you, I don't want to think of something specific for you.
And I never think of what it would be.
So I gave her a Christmas present.
Oh, you did it out of support for the campaign.
I don't know if that's the truth.
That's the truth.
That's the truth.
Let me say, we appreciate all of your help and so forth and so on.
And they can use the pictures if they want.
If they find it useful.
If I tell you what you do, and I would suggest useful,
say 20 19 years ago and now today i would wouldn't that make a good spread thank you all right

Also recorded on December 5, 1972

  • 818-002 11:43 AM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Lucy A. Winchester, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:43 am to 12:05 pm.
  • 818-003 12:05 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Adm. Horacio Rivero, Jr., Col. Richard T. Kennedy, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:05 pm to 12:25 pm.
  • 818-005 12:30 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:30 pm and 12:31 pm.
  • 818-006 12:31 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, M. Harvey Taylor, Leroy S. Zimmerman, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:31 pm to 12:37 pm.
  • 818-007 12:37 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 818-008 12:37 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 818-009 12:37 PM · 16 sec — Manolo Sanchez and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:37 pm and 12:42 pm.
  • 034-022 1:09 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 1:09 pm to 1:10 pm.

All 55 conversations from December 5, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 818-004, December 5, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417182037). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/818-004 (accessed November 2, 2026).