Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 628 › Conversation 628-019

Nixon, Butz & Blackmun on Agriculture and Public Relations

Thursday, December 2, 1971 · 5:15 PM–5:35 PM ET · Oval Office · 18 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butz, Earl L.; Blackmun, Harry A.; Rogers, William P.; Aiken, George D.; Chiles, Lawton M., Jr.; Dole, Robert J.; Eastland, James O.; Griffin, Robert P.; Miller, Jack R.; Mayne, Wiley; Purcell, Graham; Sorkin, Martin; Campbell, J. Philip; Palmby, Clarence D.; Lyng, Richard E.; Cowden, Thomas K.; Bayley, Ned; Elliott, Frank; Gifford, Claude W.; Behren, Fritz; Smith, James E.; Hamil, David A.; Peterson, Ervin; Brock, Don; Bloom, Sally; Lord, Martha; Malek, Frederic V.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob"); MacGregor, Clark; Nidecker, John E.; Timmons, William E.; Whitaker, John C.; Butterfield, Alexander P.; White House photographerConversation628-019 on Tape 628 (tape position 05:36:47–05:55:00)StartThursday, December 2, 1971 at 5:15 PMEndThursday, December 2, 1971 at 5:35 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 628-019 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417180161 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon hosted a large gathering in the Oval Office, including Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz, several members of Congress, and various agricultural officials, to discuss the state of the American agricultural sector. The President highlighted the efficiency of American farmers and the affordability of food for domestic consumers as a significant national achievement. The meeting served as a public relations event to underscore the importance of agriculture to the nation's overall well-being and to reinforce support for administration policies.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Earl L. Butz, Harry A. Blackmun, William P. Rogers, George D. Aiken, Lawton M. Chiles, Jr., Robert J. Dole, James O. Eastland, Robert P. Griffin, Jack R. Miller, Wiley Mayne, Graham Purcell, Martin Sorkin, J. Philip Campbell, Clarence D. Palmby, Richard E. Lyng, Thomas K. Cowden, Ned Bayley, Frank Elliott, Claude W. Gifford, Fritz Behren, James E. Smith, David A. Hamil, Ervin Peterson, Don Brock, Sally Bloom, Martha Lord, Frederic V. Malek, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Clark MacGregor, John E. Nidecker, William E. Timmons, John C. Whitaker, Alexander P. Butterfield, White House photographer, and members of the press met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:15 pm to 5:35 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 628-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 628-19

Date: December 2, 1971
Time: 5:15 pm - 5:35 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Earl L. Butz, Harry A. Blackmun, William P. Rogers, George D. Aiken,
Lawton M. Chiles, Jr., Robert J. Dole, James O. Eastland, Robert P. Griffin, Jack R. Miller,
Wiley Mayne, Graham Purcell, Martin Sorkin, Mrs. Earl L. Butz, J. Phil Campbell, Clarence D.
Palmby, Richard E. Lyng, Thomas K. Cowden, Ned Bayley, Frank Elliott, Claude W. Gifford,
Fritz Behrens, James E. Smith, David A. Hamil, Ervin Peterson, Don Brock, Sally Bloom,
Martha Lord, Frederic V. Malek, H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman, Clark MacGregor, John E. Nidecker,
William E. Timmons, John C. Whitaker, and Alexander P. Butterfield; the White House
photographer and members of the press were present at the beginning of the meeting.

     [General conversation]

     Butz
            -Swearing-in
                 -Secretary of Agriculture
            -Nomination
            -Qualifications in field of agriculture
            -Senate vote
            -Farmers

     Butz's comments

     Aiken's comments

     Rogers's comments
         -Dwight D. Eisenhower

     Butz's comments
          -Farmers' welfare
          -Agriculture Department
          -American agriculture
               -Farmers
               -Food
                     -Percentage of income
                     -Prices
          -George P. Shultz and other unknown men

     The President's comments
          -Meeting with farm editors in Chicago
               -Timing
               -Corn prices
               -Anecdotes
[General conversation]

The recording was cut off at an unknown time before 5:35 pm.

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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All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
uh
Thank you.
All right.
the the the

— 1 min 6 s with no transcribed speech —

I don't know.
I don't know.
Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, it has been an honor to be with all the guys here today for the first time in a long time.
Thank you very much.
I look forward to working with you all in the future.
I don't have the opportunity to report it to you.
I'm
I was there a few days, and then I was asked to say, you know, did I take this opportunity to speak to the CIA, you know, without any kind of a reservation, without any matter of what I did, more than perfect, I say, or better, I say,
Well,

— 1 min 4 s with no transcribed speech —

I can always say, however, a man who goes before the Senate has a number of senators who are strong before him and others who, with conviction, are against him.
As a man, he has to provide for those people who come down to be called to the president.
Well, uh, I mentioned this the other night.
I believe he is as well qualified for this position as any man who's ever helped.
But there's another reason why he's here.
And that is,
As a matter of fact, I think he has something to say tomorrow.
I believe that you deserve not only agriculture, but well-being.
And for most years, you've accomplished that.
And I believe that you deserve the same.
where we realize that there is a very useful purpose to pick up the breathing food for a man's hand.
A man, a girl, a husband, could have saved his life, could have had a stronger life, could have had a second marriage, could have had a husband, could have had a wife, could have had a husband, could have had a child.
Well, you did not make a good choice.
Now I'd like to have a senior member of the...
And this is Secretary of State at East Bay over at 2 o'clock.
Your new columnist, Bill.
So on your way, please.
You're going to be welcome.
That's very nice of you.
I don't know what you want to say to people who are watching.
Sorry.
I don't know what you want to say.
I don't know what you want to say.
And, uh, I know you don't see it in any way, but, uh, I know that, uh, you know, the presence, uh, the presence of, you know, and those of us who have spent the night and hour working with you, we've got a very positive experience with that.
Now, if I might intrude on any doubt that all of you have gathered, let me say to you with surprise, I'm way beyond your imagination.
Thank you.
uh...
All right, we got you.
It's a real great system of excellence in America.
It is first of all a place of food.
We produce our food in a country that is only 5% of our working population on the farms of America.
Better than the 99% that makes everything else in this place so wonderful in America.
and we are moving to the American consumer for only 16 and a half percent of its exploitable income.
We don't like to tell it, only to tell the truth.
People get their food from the United States, but that's not a quality, and that's not a low price.
So all that's present in our farmers don't need to make it up for us.
Our greatest benefit to us is that we already know that climate is not a bad thing for people to get food from.
So how do we do that?
and i'm going to press papers
friends all right
We want to use our agricultural plants to serve the well-being of our people.
Eat well, and do well, and live well, and we have a generation to thank you.
I just met with a group of farm editors and I said, I take part in prizes with you all.
And then I said, man, all the partners came through.
One of them came through, and he said, he was an officer.
He said, I like low cars.
He raised the price of cars, and he said, I'm going to go with an expensive car.
He said, I don't know.
Thank you.
All right.

Also recorded on December 2, 1971

  • 015-202 2:07 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 2:07 pm to 2:19 pm.
  • 628-012 2:19 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 2:19 pm.
  • 628-013 2:19 PM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Gordon M. Metcalf, William M. Batten, George P. Shultz, Richard A. Moore, Ronald L. Ziegler, White House photographer, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:19 pm to 2:50 pm.
  • 628-014 2:50 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Arthur A. Fletcher, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., White House photographer, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:50 pm to 3:04 pm.
  • 628-015 3:04 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:04 pm to 3:05 pm.
  • 628-016 3:05 PM · 1 hr 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Golda Meir, White House photographer, Manolo Sanchez, Henry A. Kissinger, and Yitzhak Rabin met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 4:53 pm.
  • 628-017 4:53 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:53 pm and 4:55 pm.
  • 628-018 4:55 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Rose Mary Woods, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:55 pm to 5:15 pm.

All 34 conversations from December 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 628-019, December 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417180161). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/628-019 (accessed November 5, 2026).