Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-045

Nixon phone call with Buckley on Senate and protests

Monday, April 26, 1971 · 8:11 PM–8:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Buckley, James L.Conversation002-045 on Tape 2 (tape position 01:32:27–01:34:12)StartMonday, April 26, 1971 at 8:11 PMEndMonday, April 26, 1971 at 8:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-045 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Senator James L. Buckley to commend him for his firm handling of disruptive protestors in the Senate gallery earlier that day. The two discuss the challenges of maintaining order in the Senate and the necessity of drawing a firm line against spectacle-making demonstrators. Nixon encourages Buckley to continue his stance, emphasizing that while confrontations should be avoided, the legislative business must remain uninterrupted.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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?
Senator Buckley, sir.
There you are.
Hello?
Mr. President?
I don't want to bother you at your dinner, but I just wanted to say that I thought you made exactly the right ruling when you were presiding over the Senate today.
Well, thank you very much.
I think you had to do it.
I mean, these people were apparently really out of control, huh?
They were out to make a spectacle, and I don't know what you can do except draw the line.
Right.
And did they finally clear the galleries?
What happened?
They cleared two of the galleries and then readmitted the people who were the troublemakers.
That's all right.
So I think the point was made.
Then there was another group, which I had witnessed this, who started sort of a whimpering whining, not the yelling amenities.
Yeah.
And there came a point where you had to draw the line on that one.
Sure.
And then they went out and, of course, made their noises, crying and wailing.
Yeah.
But then that was it.
Good.
Good.
Well...
Just stay firm on it.
We'll try to avoid a confrontation, but on the other hand, you can't allow them to disrupt the business of the Senate.
No, and a lot of them parking in the halls outside of my office and other people, and I don't know why you would draw the line there.
Yeah.
But it's an experience.
Yeah, well, you know, it's never dull, you know.
Once you run for the Senate from New York, you really catch a lot of hell, don't you?
More than I could realize.
Okay, fine.
Well, have a good time tonight.
Thank you very much.
Bye.

NARA Description

On April 26, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and James L. Buckley talked on the telephone from 8:11 pm to 8:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-045 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-45

Date: April 26, 1971
Time: 8:11 pm - 8:12 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with James L. Buckley.

[A transcript of the following portion of this conversation was prepared under court order from
December 1978 through March 1979 for Special Access 8, Ronald V. Dellums, et al. v. James M.
Powell, et al., No. 71-2271. The National Archives and Records Administration produced this
transcript. The National Archives does not guarantee its accuracy.]

[End of transcript]

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       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Also recorded on April 27, 1971

  • 002-044 8:01 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:01 pm and 8:11 pm.
  • 002-046 8:12 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:12 pm and 8:30 pm.
  • 489-025 8:30 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.
  • 489-026 8:30 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.
  • 489-027 8:30 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.
  • 489-028 8:30 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.
  • 489-029 8:30 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Betty Graham met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.
  • 489-030 8:30 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:30 pm and 8:51 pm.

All 46 conversations from April 27, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-045, April 27, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-045 (accessed October 10, 2026).