{"conversationCode":"003-087","tapeNumber":3,"conversationNumber":87,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-003-087","startDateTime":"1971-05-20T18:08:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-05-20T18:09:00.000Z","startDate":"20-May-1971","startTime":"2:08 PM","endDate":"20-May-1971","endTime":"2:09 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Arends, Leslie C.;","description":"On May 20, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Leslie C. Arends talked on the telephone from 2:08 pm to 2:09 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-087 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 003-087\n\nDate: May 20, 1971\nTime: 2:08 pm - 2:09 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Leslie C. Arends.\n\n[See Conversation No. 502-017A]\n\n     Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] negotiations\n           -Effect of antiballistic missile [ABM] support in Congress\n                -F. Edward Hébert\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\n            -President's announcement\n                  -Effect\n                  -\"Doves\"\n                        -J. William Fulbright\n                  -May 19, 1971 Senate vote\n            -Hébert","filename":["003-087.mp3"],"tapeStart":"01:49:15","tapeEnd":"01:50:25","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Arends, Leslie C."],"prevCode":"003-086","nextCode":"003-088","transcript":[{"start":0.15,"end":1.45,"text":"Congressman Aaron."},{"start":3.13,"end":3.65,"text":"Hello."},{"start":4.01,"end":4.59,"text":"Hello, Les."},{"start":4.66,"end":6.3,"text":"Yes, yes, Mr. President."},{"start":6.32,"end":26.76,"text":"I think when you're talking to fellows like Gabe Ayer and the rest and our other good friends, you can tell them that the only thing that made possible the statement that we made today and the breakthrough that now seems in the cards are at least a good possibility."},{"start":27.28,"end":30.64,"text":"is the fact that we had ABM and that they stood firm all the way through."},{"start":31.1,"end":31.2,"text":"Good."},{"start":31.58,"end":33.09,"text":"It makes all of our guys look good."},{"start":33.13,"end":33.69,"text":"Yeah, it does."},{"start":33.71,"end":34.41,"text":"It really does."},{"start":34.88,"end":36.18,"text":"And this is a..."},{"start":36.65,"end":37.77,"text":"It sure gives these does."},{"start":37.85,"end":40.12,"text":"You notice how quiet Fulbright was this morning?"},{"start":40.56,"end":41.66,"text":"Oh, God."},{"start":41.68,"end":43.5,"text":"I was wondering if he was going to say anything, but he didn't."},{"start":43.52,"end":43.94,"text":"He died."},{"start":43.96,"end":46.59,"text":"Oh, this really pulled the rug out of him under him."},{"start":46.61,"end":46.97,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":46.99,"end":48.15,"text":"This was terrific today."},{"start":48.45,"end":51.67,"text":"And particularly after yesterday in the Senate, now it shows it."},{"start":51.69,"end":52.03,"text":"Oh, yeah."},{"start":52.09,"end":55.18,"text":"Some of these guys, by standing up, then maybe we're up to a few things, too."},{"start":55.44,"end":59.91,"text":"Yeah, I thought the whole thing was beautifully handled this morning, and I kept reading between the lines, wasn't I?"},{"start":59.89,"end":70.27,"text":"procedure was yeah it was a great right right good you just tell eddie and the rest i will i'm going to committee right now and i'll just whisper to him i thought maybe"}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon spoke with Congressman Leslie C. Arends to emphasize that the recent breakthrough in Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) was a direct result of Congressional support for the antiballistic missile (ABM) program. Nixon credited the firm stance of his allies for the success of his latest announcement and the resulting silence from political opponents like J. William Fulbright. Arends agreed to convey this message to his fellow committee members, including F. Edward Hébert, to reinforce the strategic value of their legislative unity.","topics":["SALT negotiations","Antiballistic missile program","Congressional relations","J. William Fulbright","F. Edward Hébert"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-05T21:28:33.128Z"},"topicSlugs":["salt-negotiations","antiballistic-missile-program","congressional-relations","j-william-fulbright","f-edward-h-bert"],"audioDurationSec":71,"audioFiles":[{"file":"003-087.mp3","bytes":859265,"durationSec":71,"bitrate":96820,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:20.570Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:33.601Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/003-087.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-087","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/3/conversation-003-087","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}