Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 862 › Conversation 862-013

Nixon alone in the Oval Office on White House living quarters

Friday, February 23, 1973 · 12:32 PM–12:33 PM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan)Conversation862-013 on Tape 862StartFriday, February 23, 1973 at 12:32 PMEndFriday, February 23, 1973 at 12:33 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 862-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon discussed domestic arrangements and the reorganization of furniture in their private living quarters. The conversation focused on the practical placement of bedroom furniture, specifically regarding nightstands, mattresses, and the installation of dictaphones and lighting. No policy or administrative matters were addressed during this brief exchange.

  • Pat Nixon
  • White House living quarters
  • Domestic affairs
  • Furniture arrangement

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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So, yeah.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I wanted to change it, but just the other one gets too hard.
So, we just have the other one made over, or put it on, and make another one.
That's it.
Texture, go for it.
No, leave the bed up.
I just put the other mattress on.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
So put it all on the right side of the bed.
Put a nice table on the right side of the bed stand.
I have two stands.
So hang the phone and the dictaphone.
But I don't need them.
All I need is the two.
I need the two dictaphones.
In other words, they can be plugged.
And a lamp, that's all.
I don't need anything else.
No music, nothing else.
Just two dictaphones and a lamp.
Yeah, there's two of them.
There's two of them.
Two of them.

NARA Description

On February 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:32 pm to 12:33 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 862-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 862-13

Date: February 23, 1973
Time: Between 12:32 pm and 12:33 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon.

[See Conversation No. 43-182]

Also recorded on February 23, 1973

  • 862-011 12:30 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:30 pm and 12:31 pm.
  • 862-012 12:31 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:31 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 043-182 12:32 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 12:32 pm to 12:33 pm.
  • 043-183 12:33 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:33 pm and 3:02 pm.
  • 862-014 12:33 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 12:33 pm and 12:51 pm.
  • 862-015 12:51 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John A. Volpe, White House photographer, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:51 pm to 12:57 pm.
  • 862-023 12:55 PM · 1 min — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:55 pm and 12:57 pm.
  • 862-016 12:57 PM · 40 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John A. Volpe, Henry A. Kissinger, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:57 pm to 1:37 pm.

All 92 conversations from February 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 862-013, February 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/862-013 (accessed October 1, 2026).