Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 862 › Conversation 862-015

Nixon, Volpe & White House photographer on Photograph session

Friday, February 23, 1973 · 12:51 PM–12:57 PM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Volpe, John A.; White House photographer; Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation862-015 on Tape 862StartFriday, February 23, 1973 at 12:51 PMEndFriday, February 23, 1973 at 12:57 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 862-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met briefly with White House photographer John A. Volpe and Henry Kissinger in the Oval Office. The primary purpose of the meeting was to arrange a photograph session for Volpe before his departure, with Nixon suggesting a walk in the Rose Garden to allow press photographers to take pictures. The conversation also touched upon Volpe's schedule and briefly mentioned upcoming visits and personnel matters.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
We're not a mess here, Matt.
Why, Mr. President?
Well, we were trying to settle the biddies, so we got delayed for about an hour.
We had to see if you had a plan.
When do you leave?
One week from today.
Oh, that late?
Then get over there and get to work.
We'll take a few pictures here.
I'm not standing.
We've done this before.
I know we're going to press you.
Let's see how we want to press you over this time.
How cold is it out there?
It's, uh, pretty cold.
No, listen, Jack.
I think we should walk, uh, because, uh, let's, uh, let the press take a picture.
I've done that before.
I'd only, like, I don't know if I'd be able to say goodbye to the ambassadors.
I mean, I might run a spell on yourself.
So let's do the same.
We'll walk around.
Huh?
It was there very much.
I didn't take a picture for you.
Well, we need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
We need to have one.
One thing I want to say about the visit, the visit of the, what is that situation?
All right.
Now we're saying that you, you, you, you,
And that's who was at work for him.
He was a real, he's really, he's very, you know, he's a, he's a man of his word.

NARA Description

On February 23, 1973, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 862-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 862-15

Date: February 23, 1973
Time: 12:51 pm - 12:57 pm
                                                 -27-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                              Conversation No. 862-21 (cont’d)

Location: Oval Office

The President met with John A. Volpe; the White House photographer and member of the press
were present.

       Greetings

       Delay of meeting

       Volpe's schedule

       Photograph session

       Press relations
               -Weather
               -Rose Garden walk
                       -Press pictures
                       -Donald A. Rumsfeld
                       -Volpe
                       -John A. Scali

       Daniel P. (“Pat”) Moynihan
              -Rome
              -Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
              -[First name unknown] Beck
              -[First name unknown] Saber

       Frank C. Carlucci

Henry A. Kissinger entered at 12:52 pm.
      Walk in Rose Garden                      -Pictures

       Visit by Giulio Andreotti
               -Timing
               -Attendance

The President, et al., left at 12:55 pm.
                                            -28-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                               Conversation No. 862-21 (cont’d)

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.
  • 862-013 12:32 PM · 2 min — 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.
  • 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.
  • 862-023 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 862-015, 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/862-015 (accessed October 1, 2026).