Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 868 › Conversation 868-004

Nixon & Bull on George Foreman and White House entertainment

Saturday, March 3, 1973 · 9:10 AM–9:17 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation868-004 on Tape 868StartSaturday, March 3, 1973 at 9:10 AMEndSaturday, March 3, 1973 at 9:17 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 868-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull reviewed logistical adjustments to the President's upcoming social schedule, specifically addressing the cancellation of a meeting with boxer George Foreman due to his wife's illness. They discussed rescheduling Foreman's visit and refined plans for an evening White House entertainment event. The conversation prioritized selecting high-profile musical guests, such as Sammy Davis Jr. or the Carpenters, to ensure the event's stature was maintained without negative press implications.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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We will make it stay here tonight, sir.
George, you work in the box, sir.
Oh, his wife got the flu.
Yes, sir, got the flu.
Apparently she has a prince of heroism.
He can't be here.
Oh, we can invite him out.
He just wants to spend two weeks.
We'll invite him the next week.
Maybe once.
Maybe the other week, the way I see it.
Yes, sir.
He's very honored with it.
Yeah.
Well, he wants to wait.
Yes, sir.
What he basically said was that if you're having eating and entertainment without any press, people would say, what's the matter with the convention?
Right.
Good.
Good.
Fine.
Well, that's it.
What are they working on?
We're working on other entertainment, including the carpenters group.
Just a mixed bag.
I agree.
We must appreciate it.
Yeah.
I mean, not a mixed sort of variety show.
We'd like to find out.
We want to see if we can lock in a good entertainer along the lines of seeing his junior one person when we do it.
And then bring it out there.

NARA Description

On March 3, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:17 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 868-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 868-4

Date: March 3, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:10 am and 9:17 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

       President's schedule
             -Meeting with George Foreman
                    -Cancellation
                          -Wife's case of flu
                    -Rescheduling
             -Evening at the White House
                    -Irving Berlin
                          -Cancellation
                          -Change
                    -Karen and Richard Carpenter
                    -Sammy Davis Jr.

Bull left at 9:17 am.

Also recorded on March 3, 1973

  • 037-039 9:10 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:17 am.
  • 868-001 9:10 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:17 am.
  • 868-002 9:10 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:17 am.
  • 868-003 9:10 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:10 am and 9:17 am.
  • 037-040 9:17 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William J. Baroody, Jr. talked on the telephone from 9:17 am to 9:19 am.
  • 868-005 9:17 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:17 am and 9:19 am.
  • 868-006 9:19 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:19 am and 9:49 am.
  • 868-007 9:40 AM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:40 am and 10:05 am.

All 43 conversations from March 3, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 868-004, March 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/868-004 (accessed October 1, 2026).