Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 99 › Conversation 099-008

White House tour group on Cabinet Room and White House tours

Thursday, April 20, 1972 · 11:39 AM–3:07 PM ET · Cabinet Room ·4 min

ParticipantsWhite House tour groupConversation099-008 onTape 99StartThursday, April 20, 1972 at 11:39 AMEndThursday, April 20, 1972 at 3:07 PMRecording deviceCabinet RoomSourceNixon Library record for 099-008 ↗

AI Summary

A guide provides a tour of the Cabinet Room to a group of visitors, explaining the historical significance of the room's decor and furnishings. The discussion highlights President Nixon’s selection of presidential portraits, the history of the Cabinet table, and the specific seating arrangements based on governmental seniority. Additionally, the guide describes the traditions surrounding Cabinet member departures, including the practice of allowing outgoing officials to take their chairs as mementos.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

This is the cabinet room.
This is where all the decisions are made.
The president, in 1904, had his office.
His wife, normally, would use the merchants with his arms.
Captain Robinson.
It's a tradition that the president uses portraits to win the capitol.
These are his favorite people.
President Eisenhower, Teddy Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson.
And this is a new capitol table.
As a matter of fact, the president bought this for the capitol.
Thank you.
They had a square one.
Oh, that's right.
The president's chair.
The president's chair.
The various cabinet posts go out from him.
As you can see, the government, when they were established, as you can see, the vice president sits right across from him, and then the cabinet posts...
Do they stay here after they go out of office?
No, well, it's... Or are they sort of taken with them as a momentum?
Well, they're taken with them.
The cabinet members all check in.
It's a little ceremony.
You usually have the same dinner for the captain.
Or it's like a secretary blunt.
It's not a chair.
They bring it in for the ceremony.
It's a little ceremony.
Normally the press wouldn't attend.
The heads of committees, they've had four capital B's, official capital B's, the capital Y's.
They participate.
Well, you know, what was it then and how it is?
Well, we have to keep doing that.
Well, I'll tell you what, until it's plain and worthy, it can't go.
I wouldn't say that, but I'll tell you, please.
Do you think so, sir?
I think so, yes.
Well, we can't be proud of it, can we?
Oh, yes.
That's the best way we can do it.
That's all that we want to do, sir.
This is Kennedy.
He started the collection right after that.
This is Tom Stanton.
I don't know if you want to stay in this area.
I don't know if you want to stay here.
I don't know if you want to stay here.
I don't know if you want to stay here.

NARA Description

On April 20, 1972, a White House tour group met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:39 am and 3:07 pm. The Cabinet Room taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 099-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 99-8

Date: Unknown between April 20 and May 1, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:39 am, April 20 and 3:07 pm, May 1, 1972
Location: Cabinet Room

Unknown people [tour group] met

     Cabinet Room
          -Purpose
          -Furnishings
                -First Lady
          -Portraits
                -The President’s choices
                      -Dwight D. Eisenhower
                      -Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt
                      -[Thomas] Woodrow Wilson
          -Table
                -The President’s purchase
          -The President’s chair
          -Seating
                -Order
                      -Seniority
                            -Secretary of Defense
                            -Secretary of State
                            -The Vice President
                -Chairs

                     -Cabinet members
                          -Departures
                               -Ceremonies
                                    -Winton M. (“Red”) Blount
          -Meetings
              -Press coverage
              -Attendance
                    -Heads of committees
                    -Cabinet wives

     White House
          -West Wing
               -Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis

The unknown people left at an unknown time before 3:07 pm, May 1, 1972

Also recorded on April 20, 1972

  • 099-005 11:39 AM — Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Egil ("Bud") Krogh, and the Domestic Council met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:39 am and 3:07 pm.
  • 099-006 11:39 AM · 24 min — Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Egil ("Bud") Krogh, Jr., and the Domestic Council met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:39 am and 3:07 pm.
  • 099-009 11:39 AM — unknown person(s) met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:39 am and 3:07 pm.
  • 099-013 11:39 AM — United States Secret Service agents met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 11:39 am and 3:07 pm.
  • 714-007 11:43 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Clifford D. Carlson, Carol A. Carson, Max L. Friedersdorf, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:43 am to 11:46 am.
  • 023-047 11:46 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:46 am and 11:48 am.
  • 714-008 11:46 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:46 am.
  • 714-009 11:46 AM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:46 am and 11:48 am.

All 56 conversations from April 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 099-008, April 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/099-008 (accessed September 18, 2026).