Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 261 › Conversation 261-033

Nixon & Butterfield on Luncheon planning and White House protocol

Thursday, July 1, 1971 · 3:18 PM–3:22 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation261-033 on Tape 261 (tape position 01:40:42–01:56:40)StartThursday, July 1, 1971 at 3:18 PMEndThursday, July 1, 1971 at 3:22 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 261-033 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Butterfield met to finalize logistical arrangements for an upcoming luncheon honoring Consuelo Velasco Alvarado. They discussed the specific sequence of remarks, including the decision to have the ambassador respond rather than the guest of honor. Additionally, Nixon provided explicit instructions regarding the seating protocol for the luncheon to ensure the ambassador was appropriately placed next to First Lady Pat Nixon.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 4) · 27.1 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. It begins about 01:40:42 into the tape and ends around 01:56:40.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
1:41:04It's all right when it's pressed.
1:41:24You know what I mean?
1:41:25Well, how would you have it with that?
1:41:27You know, this is a movement of the ocean.
1:41:29That's the end of the movement here.
1:41:33It's right here.
1:41:34You see the heart?
1:41:36You see the heart?
1:41:39Just say that this is the throat of a hermit's eye.
1:41:41And if you want to see the other lobe, hold it on your hand.
1:41:46Perfectly all right.
1:41:55Jazz it up a little that way.
1:42:16Yeah, go ahead.
1:42:18You don't make sense of the remarks at the end, and she would probably respond.
1:42:22No, I think I'm going to have the ambassador respond.
1:42:28The ambassador, I want him to be, I should think that he should be in the group that comes up, but in the seating, I want him seated.
1:42:40That she doesn't have a husband, but him as the person seated next to Mrs. Nixon.
1:42:47You see, do you understand?
1:42:49Yes, sir.
1:42:49To have him the man, or Mrs. Healy, Mrs. .
1:42:56Right.
1:42:56Here's the actual remarks in 69, the suggested remarks in 69, and then everything else.
1:43:03I don't know.
1:43:04I just really need the .
1:43:21That's 12, thank you.

NARA Description

On July 1, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:18 pm to 3:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 261-033 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 261-33

Date: July 1, 1971
Time: 3:18 pm - 3:22 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield

     President’s schedule
          -Luncheon for Consuelo Velasco Alvarado on July 2, 1971
                -Press
                -Remarks at luncheon
                -Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon

                 -Seating arrangements
                 -Remarks

Butterfield left at 3:22 pm

Also recorded on July 1, 1971

  • 006-078 2:11 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 2:11 pm.
  • 006-079 3:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone from 3:14 pm to 3:16 pm.
  • 261-031 3:14 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:14 pm to 3:16 pm.
  • 261-032 3:17 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 3:17 pm.
  • 261-034 3:22 PM · 21 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 3:22 pm and 3:55 pm.
  • 261-035 3:55 PM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Alexander P. Butterfield, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:55 pm to 4:25 pm.
  • 006-080 4:09 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 4:09 pm to 4:11 pm.
  • 006-081 4:11 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:11 pm and 5:09 pm.

All 57 conversations from July 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 261-033, July 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/261-033 (accessed October 5, 2026).