Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 866 › Conversation 866-014

Nixon & White on Foreign policy and Negotiation tactics

Thursday, March 1, 1973 · 10:57 AM–11:00 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White, William L.Conversation866-014 on Tape 866StartThursday, March 1, 1973 at 10:57 AMEndThursday, March 1, 1973 at 11:00 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 866-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held a brief, cordial exchange with journalist and author William L. White to reminisce about their past acquaintance and exchange personal pleasantries. Beyond the social nature of the call, Nixon briefly touched upon his aggressive approach to foreign policy negotiations, highlighting his use of leverage—specifically regarding mine clearing and troop withdrawals—to force concessions from adversaries. Nixon concluded the conversation by encouraging White to maintain his fighting spirit and praising his past literary contributions.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
You know, I wanted to tell you that yesterday I saw the governor's name, our mutual friend, Governor Don, and that he told me that you had some very kind words to say about me a few days ago, and that he was talking to you, and that I told him I reciprocated it, and I only wish to God you were here in the Washington corner now because we need you.
I remember those times, you know, when I was out of office, when you and Hope Lewis and I would sit around and talk, remember, in New York.
And let me say that those braided articles you wrote for the Digest and so forth, boy, that kind of writing is rare now.
And I just want you to know we're thinking about you and we're praying for you, and you just keep an old spirit of it.
Well...
I'll tell you.
Right, right.
Well, I'll tell you.
The main thing is that that stuff is fighting.
You just keep that spirit up and we're working like the hickors on this game.
One day it's going to break.
But it's always a value that Billy managed to know.
We got the list for today by, you know, I just told him when they turned the horse around, he said, saying they weren't going to give us the next list.
I just said, all right, we stopped clearing the mines.
We stopped withdrawing horses.
Boy, they came around $48.
That's the only way these people can be held.
That's right.
Well, I'll tell you now, you just keep your spirit up and remember you've got this lead in the ground so it's all good.
Okay?
You still wear that very, you were the best dressed man with the vest and everything.
You still do that?
Okay.
I don't, I don't, I don't know.
Good luck to you.

NARA Description

On March 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. White met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:57 am to 11:00 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 866-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 866-14

Date: March 1, 1973
Time: 10:57 am - 11:00 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with William L. White.

[See Conversation No. 37-18]

Also recorded on March 1, 1973

  • 037-015 10:51 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:51 am.
  • 037-016 10:51 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:51 am and 10:52 am.
  • 866-006 10:51 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 10:51 am.
  • 866-007 10:51 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:51 am and 10:56 am.
  • 037-017 10:52 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst talked on the telephone from 10:52 am to 10:56 am.
  • 866-012 10:52 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Richard G. Kleindienst met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:52 am and 10:56 am.
  • 037-018 10:57 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. White talked on the telephone from 10:57 am to 11:00 am.
  • 866-015 11:00 AM · 1 hr 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft, Golda Meir, Simcha Dinitz, and Yitzhak Rabin met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:00 am and 12:39 pm.

All 53 conversations from March 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 866-014, March 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/866-014 (accessed October 1, 2026).