Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 85 › Conversation 085-004

Nixon White House recording on Role-playing and Cabinet Room

Friday, December 3, 1971 · 12:00 AM–10:08 AM ET · Cabinet Room

Participants[Unknown person(s)]Conversation085-004 onTape 85StartFriday, December 3, 1971 at 12:00 AMEndFriday, December 3, 1971 at 10:08 AMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 085-004 ↗

AI Summary

Maintenance personnel working in the Cabinet Room were recorded engaging in role-playing exercises, during which they took turns impersonating the President, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and a White House candidate. This brief interaction serves as a candid, lighthearted example of staff utilizing a secure government space for informal recreation. No substantive policy discussions or political developments occurred during this brief period.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 111.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 113.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 26.0 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

2:57:13I'm supposed to be the president.
2:57:14Is that what you think I'm supposed to be?
2:57:19Yes, and I never get to say who I'm supposed to be.
2:57:23Attorney General, Secretary of Labor, Mr. Kennedy.
2:57:31I'm the president.
2:57:32I'm supposed to be the White House candidate.
2:57:34I'm supposed to be the president.

NARA Description

On December 3, 1971, unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 085-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 85-4

Date: Unknown between December 3 and December 6, 1971
Time: Unknown between 12:00 am, December 3 and 10:08 am, December 6, 1971
Location: Cabinet Room

Unknown men [maintenance personnel?] met

******************************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Non-historical]
[Duration: 14m 42s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

******************************************************************************

The unknown men [maintenance personnel?] left at an unknown time before 10:08 am,
December 6, 1971

Also recorded on December 3, 1971

  • 085-001 12:00 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-002 12:00 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-003 12:00 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-006 12:00 AM — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-007 12:00 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-008 12:00 AM — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-009 12:00 AM — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.
  • 085-010 12:00 AM — a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 12:00 am and 10:08 am.

All 14 conversations from December 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 085-004, December 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/085-004 (accessed September 18, 2026).