Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 8 › Conversation 008-061

Nixon phone call with Butterfield on White House logistics and Billy Graham

Thursday, September 9, 1971 · 10:11 AM–10:20 AM ET · White House Telephone · 13 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation008-061 on Tape 8 (tape position 01:49:30–02:02:45)StartThursday, September 9, 1971 at 10:11 AMEndThursday, September 9, 1971 at 10:20 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 008-061 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield discussed logistical arrangements for several upcoming White House events, focusing primarily on the guest list for a luncheon with Billy Graham and his family. The conversation also covered the attendee list for a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeo Fukuda and structural arrangements for a dinner honoring the Apollo 15 astronauts. Nixon sought to strictly manage the number of attendees at these functions, specifically directing Butterfield to limit the inclusion of extended family members and children.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 7 minutes of this recording (about 55% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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With regard to the church today, we're going to change the format.
We decided to have the graves for lunch.
Oh, okay.
So we'll meet down at the red room at, say, 11.
Yeah.
30.
Right.
Yeah.
Now, I'd like to know what part of Graham's family is coming, so I don't know where to cut off the lunch.
Do you have any of his children?
I'm in Lucy's office right now.
Let me just check with her quickly.
I know he has his mother.
I know.
And is his wife coming?
And his wife is coming.
All right.
Right.
Well, I can get that to you, sir.
Yeah.
Well, I need to know so that I can know whether they're... Well, anyway, we'll need the Haydens, not the Singer.
Right.
Right.
The Haydens, the Grahams, and their mother.
And then I think in any...
I don't know what other relative that they...
I don't want any brothers or sisters.
Do you want any children?
No, no.
I don't want any children.
They're having their children.
Well, Hayden.
Well, he waits.
Just check me out the children.
All right.
Check me out the children.
All right.
I just think there's that one child, the Hayden.
And the Graham, I think that's it on the Graham.
The close relative is right there.
Yeah, Lucy's nodding.
That's it.
She does.
He is not having children or any other relatives.
No.
Well, this is it.
So I think you've got Hayden.
How many would that be?
You've got Hayden's two, Graham's two, the mother one.
All right, sure.
I'll do that.
Yeah.
Three granddaughters are coming with their husbands.
Two sisters and a brother, a brother, with their spouse.
I think it's too many.
I do too, and I'm pretty close.
I think they're too close.
All right, then have the...
Yeah.
The daughters and their husbands?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
The two sisters and the brother and their spouse.
We never had plans to have a boy upstairs.
A little boy?
Yeah.
before the service and forget the lunch?
Forget the lunch.
Yeah.
We'll have them up here as well.
All right.
All right, yeah.
I have one question, sir, on another subject.
This meeting with Fukuda at 7.30?
you said you and Secretary Rogers and Fukuda, that you, Henry was hoping, Henry felt that he should be there and Alex Johnson as well, and that's the way he had planned it, isn't it?
Sure, I don't care.
Yeah.
Yeah, okay, well, that's it.
Then who do I want?
Well, I talked to Hagg about that.
He said this was the way it was laid out, excluding the ambassador, but including Alex Johnson and Henry.
I don't mean our ambassador.
No.
I mean Fukuda's ambassador.
Yeah.
You see, right here, you're overloading me.
Well,
You check to see whether these are OK, I will.
I'd just like to know my own information.
What's my name and where I'm from.
I may have been here.
Yes.
Okay.
And actually, they're not going to be in our box.
No.
Let's just find out where they are.
All right.
Can you do it without making it appear like you're at it?
Of course I can.
I'll be very sure about that.
I'll let you know.
Sure.
I'm sure great.
After that, worship service?
Yeah, but I'll... Now, that's the next visit she had told me.
They'd have the big kids last night.
Having their kids.
Yeah, I do.
Yeah, I was there.
Now, what I am thinking is, I'm going to take off.
I'm going to have that whole bunch of water.
I can't save it.
I'm going to take off the floor.
It occurred to me that we wanted, that we wanted to do that.
Set up an eastern ground pavement.
Just work out some sort of
When is the test?
One week away.
It's the 16th, yes.
About a week away.
But it was just a small brunt of it.
That's what it was.
Yeah.
With the kids.
Five.
I know.
Yeah.
Five or six children and five adults.
Eight children.
Probably.
I think what we'll do is...
I think what we'll do...
Okay, that sounds good.
That may be a separate table for the children.
But not in the same room?
No, not in the same room.
Not them?
No.
I think the best...
Okay, let's see.
Third floor.
Now, your dinner is on the second floor.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
OK.
Make a note.
You don't need to let me know.
Yeah, okay.
All right, let's get it on.

NARA Description

On September 9, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 10:11 am to 10:20 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 008-061 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 8-61

Date: September 9, 1971
Time: 10:11 am - 10:20 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     Church service, September 12, 1971
          -William F. (“Billy”) and Ruth McC. Graham
                -Format change
                     -Lunch
                          -Red Room meeting
                          -Timing
                -Arrangements
                     -Family
                          -Lucy A. Winchester
                          -Graham's mother
                          -Graham’s wife
                          -The Reverend and Mrs. Ben Haden
                          -Grahams
                                 -Mother
                                 -Relatives
                          -Haden children
                                 -Son
                          -Graham children
                          -Haden's son
                          -Graham children
                                 -Winchester
                          -Number of guests
                          -Graham's daughters and sons-in-law
                          -Graham's sisters and brother
                          -Service

                          -Attendees summarized
                     -Norma and Randy Zimmer [soloist]
                          -Son
                     -Arrangements
                          -Numbers
                          -Lunch
                     -Tour

The President's schedule
     -The President's meeting with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Takeo Fukuda,
          September 10, 1971
          -Attendees
          -William P. Rogers
          -Henry A. Kissinger
          -U. Alexis Johnson
          -Ambassador Nobuhiko Ushiba
          -Imbalance
          -Fukuda
          -Ushiba
     -Kennedy Center, September 9, 1971
          -John B. and Idanell B. (“Nellie”) Connally
                 -Plans
     -Graham lunch arrangements
          -Worship service
     -Dinner for the Apollo 15 astronauts and wives, September 16, 1971
          -Arrangements
                 -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                 -Children
                 -Previous dinner
                 -Number
                 -Camp David
                 -Florida
                 -East Room
                 -Date
                 -Winchester
                       -Number of children and adults
                 -Children
                       -Table
                 -Spiro T. Agnew
                 -Children
                       -Table
                 -Location of dinners

                             -Children
                                  -Third floor
                             -Adults
                                  -Second floor
                        -Mrs. Nixon

     [Unintelligible]

     Dr. W. Kenneth Riland
          -Father [H. Walter Riland]
               -Forthcoming birthday

     The President's schedule
          -John and Nellie Connally
               -Kennedy Center
               -The President's forthcoming meeting with Connally

Also recorded on September 9, 1971

  • 008-060 9:04 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:04 am and 10:11 am.
  • 008-062 10:20 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:20 am and 11:01 am.
  • 008-063 11:01 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 11:01 am to 11:13 am.
  • 008-064 11:13 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:13 am and 11:18 am.
  • 008-065 11:18 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 11:18 am to 11:23 am.
  • 568-001 1:18 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:18 pm and 1:22 pm.
  • 008-066 1:20 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:33 pm.
  • 278-001 1:20 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 1:33 pm.

All 58 conversations from September 9, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 008-061, September 9, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/008-061 (accessed October 24, 2026).