Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 4 › Conversation 004-014

Nixon phone call with Woods on Press Relations and May Day Demonstrations

Tuesday, June 1, 1971 · 10:17 PM–10:20 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation004-014 on Tape 4 (tape position 00:56:59–01:00:12)StartTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 10:17 PMEndTuesday, June 1, 1971 at 10:20 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 004-014 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, discuss the President's recent press conference performance and public reception. Woods commends Nixon for his calm demeanor while addressing aggressive questioning regarding the administration's handling of May Day demonstrators. The conversation highlights the administration’s strategy of framing these protests as law and order issues, noting that Attorney General John Mitchell expressed strong approval of the President's steady approach.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
Hello.
Hi, that was marvelous.
Your little friends were really trying to get after us, weren't they?
Well, you know, and they're also doggone stupid.
They've got to read their questions.
And they were nasty.
Yeah, well.
Well, they were really rough questions, and they really stayed with it.
But, boy, you just answered beautifully.
The expression was great.
It was just marvelous.
Well, I wasn't rough on them, but I was damned.
But it was very important to tell the American people that we weren't going to tolerate these demonstrators.
You know, that's right.
What was beautiful was that you were not rough on them.
You answered.
You were just great.
It was very good, and they didn't annoy you.
You didn't let it show us.
They did.
And it was just...
It really was excellent.
Well, they were...
I thought it was good to get across that credibility question.
Oh, that was marvelous.
Look, we're going to, after all, we're going to answer that for what we do.
I think that was just great.
And when you smiled and said you wished all your problems were that easy, it was just, I thought it was absolutely perfect.
But you know, I was...
Somebody was saying, gee, they really were asking many questions about the demonstrators.
And I said, gee, I was glad they did, because the folks are for us on that issue.
Well, that's right.
And you very patiently, each time, said that they were not demonstrators, that peaceful demonstrators had no trouble here.
These were not peaceful demonstrators.
It was just great.
You said it just right, and you never, you know, you didn't lash out.
It was just marvelous.
I suppose they told you John Mitchell called and said... No, I didn't hear that.
Oh, he called for you or for me, and he said that he thought it was absolutely great, because the job was just very, very deft, that he was sorry that the Justice Department gave you so many problems.
He thought you handled all the questions just right, and he was...
very pleased.
He thought it would make a very interesting study to have somebody analyze the questions and the way they were worded.
All these people are just more concerned about the rights of the people who want to stop the government.
Well, that's right.
The people who want to not have their tires slashed or their garbage thrown all over the place.
Yeah, the ones who want to go to work and be good citizens.
Nobody cares about their rights.
Oh, I thought it was just, it was great and they were sort of stupid to keep pounding that question because it really gave you a great chance.
That was... Oh, my, yes.
You know, some of them, when they ask questions, they just look so evil.
Oh, just straight-out evil.
It's really fantastic, but it was a great job.
Okay.
Okay.
Take care.

NARA Description

On June 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 10:17 pm to 10:20 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 004-014 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 4-14

Date: June 1, 1971
Time: 10:17 pm - 10:20 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods.

     President's previous press conference
           -Reporters
          -President's conduct
          -May Day demonstrators
          -President's demeanor
           -Credibility question
           -May Day demonstrators
                 -Public opinion
                 -John N. Mitchell's opinion
                       -Call to Woods
                 -Civil rights
           -Law and order
           -Reporters
                 -Appearance

Also recorded on June 2, 1971

  • 004-011 10:09 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 10:09 pm to 10:10 pm.
  • 004-012 10:10 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 10:10 pm to 10:16 pm.
  • 004-013 10:16 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 10:16 pm to 10:17 pm.
  • 004-015 10:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:23 pm.
  • 004-016 10:20 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 pm and 10:23 pm.
  • 004-017 10:23 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover talked on the telephone from 10:23 pm to 10:29 pm.
  • 004-018 10:30 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 10:30 pm to 10:34 pm.
  • 004-019 10:34 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone on an unknown date, sometime between 10:34 pm on June 1, 1971 and 2:47 pm on June 3, 1971.

All 42 conversations from June 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 004-014, June 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/004-014 (accessed October 10, 2026).