Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 251 › Conversation 251-051

Nixon & Macomber on Protest activity and American flag

Tuesday, May 4, 1971 · 1:12 PM–1:13 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 41 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Macomber, William B., Jr.Conversation251-051 on Tape 251 (tape position 03:12:53–03:14:15)StartTuesday, May 4, 1971 at 1:12 PMEndTuesday, May 4, 1971 at 1:13 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 251-051 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon called William B. Macomber, Jr. to personally commend him for his intervention during a protest the previous day where he physically prevented demonstrators from removing an American flag. Nixon expressed strong support for Macomber's actions, framing the incident as a defense of national symbols against agitators seeking only to cause damage. The brief exchange served to bolster morale and demonstrate presidential approval for Macomber's confrontational approach to the protesters.

  • Protest activity
  • American flag
  • William B. Macomber Jr.
  • Executive support
  • Civil unrest

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.6 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hello?
Hello?
Bill, I just wanted you to know that I thought that was a fine job you did yesterday of grabbing that flag when these people tried to take it down.
Now that, uh, I know all the heat people take around now, but, you know, these judges mean something.
You walked out there and grabbed it, too.
Didn't get scarred up?
No.
Hey, I think really that you're right.
They, uh, they're not, they're not interested in the fight.
They just want to do damage and let people run away.
You tell them I called and packed up too, will you?
All right, Bill.
All right.

NARA Description

On May 4, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William B. Macomber, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:12 pm to 1:13 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 251-051 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 251-51

Date: May 4, 1971
Time: 1:12 pm - 1:13 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with William B. Macomber, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 42-86]

Also recorded on May 4, 1971

  • 490-017 12:35 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jeane L. Dixon, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 1:11 pm.
  • 042-084 1:11 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 042-085 1:11 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 251-048 1:11 PM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:11 pm to 1:12 pm.
  • 251-049 1:11 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 251-050 1:11 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 1:12 pm.
  • 490-019 1:11 PM · 53 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:11 pm and 2:05 pm.
  • 042-086 1:12 PM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and William B. Macomber, Jr. talked on the telephone from 1:12 pm to 1:13 pm.

All 33 conversations from May 4, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 251-051, May 4, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/251-051 (accessed October 3, 2026).