Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 284 › Conversation 284-021
Nixon & Safire on Staffing and Speechwriting
Wednesday, October 6, 1971 · 8:39 PM–8:40 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and speechwriter William Safire briefly touched upon Safire’s need for additional assistance in his role. The President encouraged Safire to reflect on the matter, suggesting they reconvene later to discuss potential support arrangements. They also briefly coordinated the initiation of a phone call to a third party.
Audio
This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.
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Position in tape: 02:18:23 – 02:20:00
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On October 6, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:39 pm to 8:40 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 284-021 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 284-21 Date: October 6, 1971 Time: 8:39 pm - 8:40 pm Location: Executive Office Building William L. Safire talked with the President. [See Conversation No. 10-104]
Also recorded on October 7, 1971
- 010-102 8:00 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 8:00 pm.
- 010-103 8:00 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:00 pm and 8:39 pm.
- 284-018 8:00 PM · 2 min — 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 8:00 pm and 8:39 pm.
- 284-019 8:00 PM · 8 min — 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 8:00 pm and 8:39 pm.
- 010-104 8:39 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and William L. Safire talked on the telephone from 8:39 pm to 8:40 pm.
- 284-022 8:40 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, William L. Safire, and Nellie L. Yates met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:40 pm and 11:59 pm.
- 010-105 8:54 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Nellie L. Yates talked on the telephone from 8:54 pm to 8:55 pm.
- 285-002 8:55 PM · 4 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 8:55 pm and 9:18 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 284-021, October 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/284-021 (accessed October 6, 2026).