Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 456 › Conversation 456-017

Nixon & Safire on State of the World message and National security

Tuesday, February 23, 1971 · 3:05 PM–3:08 PM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Safire, William L.Conversation456-017 onTape 456 (tape position 03:29:08–03:33:35)StartTuesday, February 23, 1971 at 3:05 PMEndTuesday, February 23, 1971 at 3:08 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 456-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with speechwriter William Safire to discuss the drafting and refinement of the upcoming 'State of the World' message. The conversation focused on the presentation of national security, defense, and arms control policies, particularly in relation to the perspectives of Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and Secretary of State William Rogers. Nixon tasked Safire with integrating editorial changes to ensure the message effectively articulated his vision for a strong America.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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John, I want you to talk to the go-getter.
There's a lair in front of you.
The security guard has to do with the security guard.
There's a lot of people in the body who can do that.
Just let me know if I understand you.
The part that you have to do with arms control, that's there.
That's there.
And it has to do with advancing strong America.
That's all there.
And he didn't have the same chance.
He said he's had a chance.
But he just can't.
Did you get through it over the fractures?
I think we can start over.
Actually, that's what I was thinking of myself.
Why don't we stay around here?
I think we'll get to the letter tomorrow.
All right.
Yeah, I understand.
I'm looking forward to saying that.
The whole purpose is just to...
I'm looking forward to it.
Not to be left over there.
Not to be thrown through that thing.
and it just truly is, you know, yeah.
I just wanted to, I tried to just say that you've got any editorial changes you'd like to make.
This is just assumptions, assumptions around the report.
Fine, fine, fine, fine.
Did it work on the committees?
Did you get any good suggestions or did you have any good phrases or anything there?
Good?
All right.
Take care of him.

NARA Description

On February 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and William L. Safire met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:08 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 456-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 456-17

Date: February 23, 1971
Time: 3:05 pm - 3:08 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with William L. Safire

     State of the World message
           -Melvin R. Laird and William P. Rogers
           -National security
                 -Defense
                 -Arms control
           -Schedule

Also recorded on February 23, 1971

  • 456-013 2:09 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:09 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 456-014 2:09 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:09 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 456-015 2:09 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:09 pm and 3:00 pm.
  • 456-016 3:00 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:00 pm to 3:05 pm.
  • 456-018 3:08 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:22 pm.
  • 456-019 3:08 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:08 pm and 3:22 pm.
  • 456-020 3:22 PM · 16 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:22 pm and 4:06 pm.
  • 456-021 4:08 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:08 pm to 4:09 pm.

All 27 conversations from February 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 456-017, February 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/456-017 (accessed September 18, 2026).