Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 831 › Conversation 831-016

Nixon, O'Neill & Ford on State of the Union and Legislative relations

Wednesday, January 3, 1973 · 2:59 PM–3:03 PM ET · Oval Office · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); O'Neill, Thomas P. ("Tip"), Jr.; Ford, Gerald R.Conversation831-016 on Tape 831StartWednesday, January 3, 1973 at 2:59 PMEndWednesday, January 3, 1973 at 3:03 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 831-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with House Majority Leader Tip O'Neill and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford to foster rapport and discuss upcoming legislative agenda items. The President informed the congressional leaders of his decision to prioritize his inaugural address over a traditional State of the Union address to avoid redundant messaging. Nixon extended an invitation to both men for a follow-up breakfast meeting to further coordinate on the administration's legislative priorities.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Yes.

Well, I'm glad to hear from you.

Just congratulations.

Yes, I can hear you.

Well, I can hear you a little something.

Can you hear me?

Now you're on the line, yeah.

Yeah.

Are you still the best poker player out there?

I remember, you know, 20 years ago, we had that little game.

I just, I always said, don't get in that O'Neill of it when it's high, low, seven cards, spit in the ocean, huh?

I'll tell you.

Listen, no, no, no.

I could play in the Navy when it was five cards, doing five card draw.

I got in with these sharp shooters in my house and sent it.

Wow.

It was those wild games that got me, those wild games.

Yeah.

Great.

And we're glad to have you in session.

And I would hope very much that you and Jerry can join us for breakfast in the morning.

It's a perfect word for Friday morning.

You're going to be talking on Thursday.

Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays, Thursdays,

Yeah, sure.

Yeah, here's a

I'm going to follow the practice, Jerry, of the first year.

You see, when you have an inaugural, your State of the Union duplicates it, basically.

And I, in checking through history, I decided to make the inaugural instead.

And then I'll write the State of the Union.

And then I'll come to the Congress on another occasion, on a special subject, you know what I mean, when the occasion commences.

But I think it really doubles up too much to have a state of the art, and then an art of whatever, particularly when you're getting that television audience twice.

But we'll give you good message.

I've got a whole flock of my work on call for about two months.

NARA Description

On January 3, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr., and Gerald R. Ford met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 831-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 831-16

Date: January 3, 1973
Time: Unknown between 2:59 pm and 3:03 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Thomas P. (“Tip”) O'Neill, Jr. and Gerald R. Ford.

[See Conversation No. 35-75]

Also recorded on January 3, 1973

035-074 2:52 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-012 2:52 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-013 2:52 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and William E. Timmons met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-014 2:52 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
831-015 2:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:52 pm and 2:59 pm.
035-075 2:59 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Thomas P. ("Tip") O'Neill, Jr. talked on the telephone from 2:59 pm to 3:03 pm.
831-017 3:03 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:03 pm and 3:05 pm.
831-018 3:05 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, J. Bennett Johnston, III, Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston, III, J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Mrs. J. Bennett Johnston, Jr., Mary Johnston, Hunter Johnston, Sally Johnston, Betsy Allums, Bill Allums, William E. Timmons, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:14 pm.

All 39 conversations from January 3, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 831-016, January 3, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/831-016 (accessed October 12, 2026).