Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 2 › Conversation 002-084

Nixon phone call with Byrd on Vietnam War and Anti-war protests

Wednesday, May 5, 1971 · 10:15 AM–10:30 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Byrd, Harry F., Jr.Conversation002-084 on Tape 2 (tape position 03:07:38–03:09:39)StartWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 10:15 AMEndWednesday, May 5, 1971 at 10:30 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 002-084 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. discussed the administration's recent handling of anti-war demonstrators in Washington, D.C., expressing mutual agreement on the necessity of clearing protest camps to maintain government operations. Byrd offered his support for the President’s Vietnam policy, and Nixon thanked the Senator for his vocal backing during a period of political scrutiny. The conversation served to reinforce the political alignment between the two men regarding law enforcement and foreign policy.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Senator Harry Bird, sir.
Hello.
Good morning, Mr. President.
Harry, how are you?
Fine.
Have our little animals been up to call on you fellows yet today?
Not today.
I've had a good many in my office over the past week or so.
Yeah, well, this latest crew is a pretty scruffy bunch, isn't it?
Very scruffy bunch.
Oh, my.
I think the government has handled it mighty well.
Well, I appreciate that.
As a matter of fact, what I called to tell you is that I heard from...
uh clark mcgregor about your talk yesterday and i'm most grateful for on the vietnam situation well i i just think it's important to put this thing in perspective and for the people to know what you've done well i appreciate it very much and as a matter of fact we're uh this thing is uh the main thing is for it all to come out in the end and it will and we're just holding the course and there'll be some good announcements as time goes on here so uh
You can be sure that fellows like yourself that have stuck their necks out, I think you're going to come out all right.
You better.
I think you've done mighty well with it, and I just wanted to say so.
Well, I appreciate it.
Matter of fact, you know, Pat was down to the Senate ladies yesterday, and she said that,
that the number of the ladies, you know, Mrs. Dennis and others were saying that they believed that the government had done just right in cracking down on these demonstrators when they came in.
You know, we weren't rough on them, but if they said, when they wouldn't clear the, you know, I was in California and I talked to Mitchell and the chief of police and I told them Saturday night that,
The next morning, I should just go in there and clean out that camp if they don't want to go.
And that way, we just can't let them stop the government.
That's the way I feel.
Absolutely.
And I think this will have a good effect.
And this chief of police has done a marvelous job.
He's been awfully good, this Wilson.
We ought to give him a medal.
Good.
I think you did a great job on it.
And I do appreciate you calling me so much, Mr. President.
Thank you.
Thanks a lot, Harry.
Gretchen George was with Pat yesterday.
Yes, I know.
I know she's there.
And give her my best, will you?
Gretchen, thank you so much.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On May 5, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:30 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 002-084 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 2-84

Date: May 5, 1971
Time: Unknown between 10:15 am and 10:30 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Harry F. Byrd, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 491-16]

[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]

Also recorded on May 5, 1971

  • 002-083 10:15 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:30 am.
  • 002-085 10:15 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:30 am.
  • 491-015 10:15 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:27 am.
  • 491-016 10:15 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Harry F. Byrd, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:27 am.
  • 491-017 10:15 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:27 am.
  • 491-018 10:15 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:27 am.
  • 491-019 10:15 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:15 am and 10:27 am.
  • 002-086 10:27 AM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Melvin R. Laird talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:27 am and 10:33 am.

All 77 conversations from May 5, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 002-084, May 5, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/002-084 (accessed October 12, 2026).