Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 254 › Conversation 254-018

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Telecommunications

Monday, May 31, 1971 · 6:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 15 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operatorConversation254-018 on Tape 254 (tape position 01:32:05–01:32:23)StartMonday, May 31, 1971 at 6:20 PMEndMonday, May 31, 1971 at 6:20 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 254-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with the White House operator to manage a pending communication with an unidentified individual. The President confirmed the recipient's current status and indicated that a return call should be placed once the individual arrived at their destination. No significant policy decisions were reached, as the brief exchange focused solely on logistics for reaching a specific party.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Oh, I know he's home already.
Uh, that's all right.
He can call when he gets there.
No, no, no.

NARA Description

On May 31, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 6:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 254-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 254-18

Date: May 31, 1971
Time: 6:20 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with the White House operator

[See Conversation No. 3-202]

Also recorded on May 31, 1971

  • 003-200 6:06 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:06 pm and 6:15 pm.
  • 254-017 6:06 PM · 4 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 6:06 pm and 6:15 pm.
  • 003-201 6:15 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 6:15 pm.
  • 003-202 6:20 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 6:20 pm.
  • 254-019 6:20 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:20 pm and 6:30 pm.
  • 003-203 6:30 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 6:30 pm to 6:38 pm.
  • 254-020 6:30 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:30 pm to 6:38 pm.
  • 003-204 6:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 6:38 pm to 6:42 pm.

All 50 conversations from May 31, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 254-018, May 31, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/254-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).