Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 3 › Conversation 003-107

Nixon phone call with an unidentified caller on William L. Safire

Friday, May 21, 1971 · 7:32 AM–9:37 AM ET · White House Telephone · 3 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation003-107 on Tape 3 (tape position 02:04:56–02:05:05)StartFriday, May 21, 1971 at 7:32 AMEndFriday, May 21, 1971 at 9:37 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 003-107 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon initiates a brief telephone call to White House speechwriter and advisor William L. Safire. The communication serves as a direct request for the operator to connect him with Safire for an immediate discussion. No further substantive policy or administrative details were captured in this brief exchange.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Sapphire, please.

NARA Description

On May 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:32 am and 9:37 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 003-107 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 003-107

Date: May 21, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:32 am and 9:37 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

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

[See Conversation No. 503-002]

     Call to William L. Safire

Also recorded on May 21, 1971

  • 503-001 8:13 AM · 1 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:13 am and 9:25 am.
  • 503-002 9:25 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 9:25 am and 9:37 am.
  • 003-108 9:37 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 9:37 am to 9:40 am.
  • 503-003 9:37 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:37 am to 9:40 am.
  • 503-004 9:40 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:40 am to 9:46 am.
  • 503-005 9:46 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:46 am and 9:53 am.
  • 503-006 9:53 AM · 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, Gerard C. Smith, Paul H. Nitze, Llewellyn E. ("Tommy") Thompson, Jr., Philip J. Farley, Alexander P. Butterfield, and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:53 am to 10:43 am.
  • 503-007 10:46 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:46 am to 10:47 am.

All 40 conversations from May 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 003-107, May 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/003-107 (accessed October 12, 2026).