Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 458 › Conversation 458-002

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Radio Address

Thursday, February 25, 1971 · 9:11 AM–3:20 PM ET · Oval Office · 42 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation458-002 on Tape 458 (tape position 00:02:48–00:48:40)StartThursday, February 25, 1971 at 9:11 AMEndThursday, February 25, 1971 at 3:20 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 458-002 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417175995 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard M. Nixon met with radio technicians in the Oval Office to record his radio address concerning the Second Annual Foreign Policy Report to Congress. The discussion primarily focused on technical logistics, the arrangement of recording equipment, and the President's delivery of specific segments of the speech. During the session, the President successfully recorded the address, including a re-recorded segment to ensure the clarity and effectiveness of his message on foreign policy.

Audio

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NARA Description

On February 25, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) [radio technicians] met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:11 am and 3:20 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 458-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 458-002

Date: February 25, 1971
Time: Unknown between 9:11 am and 3:20 pm
Location: Oval Office

Unknown people [radio technicians] met

     Technical problems
          -Logistics
          -The President’s schedule

The President entered at 10:56 am

     Logistics

[The President recorded his Radio Address About Second Annual Foreign Policy Report to the
Congress]

[A transcript of the final version of this speech appears in Public Papers of the Presidents,
Richard M. Nixon, 1971, pp. 212-218]

[End of transcribed portion]

     Technical problems
          -Re-recording of speech segment

[The President re-recorded a portion of his radio address]

[A transcript of the final version of this speech appears in Public Papers of the Presidents,
Richard M. Nixon, 1971, pp. 212-218]

[End of transcribed portion]

The President left at 11:50 am

     Technical problems

     [General conversation]

Recording was cut off at an unknown time before 3:20 pm

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 15 minutes of this recording (about 36% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Oh, my God.
Thank you.
That's what I said.
Did y'all see the plane over there?
We have to move it back up into here.
I'm not sure we want to scratch this table.
I need to hear from you.
In this one, too, it must be moved.
I'll have to be moving the boat home.
We have to put it back.
We'll have to get that loaded.
All right.
Come on.
That's the second one.
Yes, sir.
Oh, I'll be there.
The other organization's here.
Stand by.
No, I didn't want to go like that.
Oh, man.
This is the White House call.
Will you do any three-minute time check?
Any three-minute time check to stand by, please?
Three minutes to the president.
Coming up in five, four, three, two, one.
Will you do any three-minute time check to stand by, please?
Three minutes to the president.
Coming up on two minutes, two questions.
In five, four, three, two, one.
One minute to the next one.
Thank you.
.
.
.
.
We don't have a gate, but we'll just do it.
All right.
All right.
All right.
All right.

— 1 min 1 s with no transcribed speech —

Put the bag up here.
Put the bag up.
You gotta call me when you land there.
I'll be up downstairs.
This is how we usually do it.
I wonder if he just forgot to turn it on.
Certainly hope not.
What's going on?
What's he supposed to be doing?
What's he supposed to be doing?
20, I heard, and I don't get it.
And that works for Karen, and it lasts an hour.

— 1 min 37 s with no transcribed speech —

Oh, is it good?
All right.
All right.
At the top of the page, the presence is in the mind.
As you go down the page, drop your head and you're reaching for it.
Right above.
Because I have no concern.
I have the slightest idea of where to close this box.
They don't say a shit.
They wouldn't have to.
Then I would know.
So would everybody else.
Thank you.
Hey, Tony.
Tony, Tony.
Hey, Tony.
All right.

— 1 min 32 s with no transcribed speech —

That's it.
That's it.
All right.
The president's going to be reading excerpts already, so he will pause and move papers.
I guess the best way to set it is to just keep going.
It will take a few minutes between the takes to...
How is he going to stop himself?
I don't know.
You don't want to stop him?
I don't want to.
I don't want to.
I don't want to have to go through the problem of killing him every time.
We're going to keep running this one.
We're going to keep running this one.
I've already told you that we're going to turn it over.
I got it.
OK. Good luck.
Good luck.
Good luck.
I learned a lesson, too, about this.
Huh?
I'm telling the truth.
I'm telling the truth.
I'm telling the truth.
Tell them at the end we're going to bring a stills in, so they're probably going to jump in front of you.
Oh, boy.
It's got a hand camera up there.
Everybody has a hand camera here.
Watch this.
You step down on the end or come all around.
OK.
Does everybody have another hand camera?
I mean, you know, from the equipment, the protection, you know.
You don't have to use it.
I don't have to use it.
I don't have to use it.
You can really create a lot of untruths.
We're a man of the chaos of the truth.
Take you an hour, and then you'll be able to pick up the remote.
I'm getting one.
Here's mine.
You won't see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
It's hard to see it every day of the night.
I just put my whole room inside here.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
That's it.
.
.
.
.
.
There is no more important goal of this administration than building a lasting peace.
The report I sent to the Congress today details steps we are taking to bring a lasting peace in Vietnam and throughout the world.
In today's world, peace requires partnership.
Each nation must have a state in its shape, and every nation must have a state in its last.
We must work with others in building a structure of peace.
We have laid a foundation.
By building upon it carefully, we can look forward to what Americans have not enjoyed in this century, a full generation.
The most immediate and angry problem that faced this administration two years ago was the war in Vietnam.
We've come a long way since then.
Two years ago, when this administration came into office, there were 550,000 Americans in Vietnam.
Within 60 days, we will have brought home 260,000, and this spring, I will make an announcement of another withdrawal schedule.
Two years ago, our casualties each month were five times as they are today.
Much of the progress we've made in Vietnam was due to the success of the alley operations against the Cambodian casualties last spring.
The clear proof is in this figure.
American casualties after Cambodian have been half the rate they were before Cambodian.
Our decision to clean out the sanctuaries in Canberra has saved thousands of American lives.
It enabled us to continue withdrawing our American forces on schedule.
And just as last year's cutoff of supplies due to employment has saved lives and ensured our withdrawal program this year,
The purpose of this year's disruption of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and mobs is to save lives and to ensure the success of our withdrawal program next year.
We will search for constructive discussions with communists in China while maintaining our defense commitments to Taiwan.
When a dialogue of the People's Republic of China is ready to engage in talks, it will
to agreements that further the legitimate national interests of China and its neighbors.
In the Middle East, the United States certainly intends to stop the fight and to stop the process of peace.
There is still the risk of war, and now for the first time in years, the parties are actively calculating the risks of peace.
The policy of the United States will be to continue to promote peace talks, not to try to impose a peace from the outside, but to support the peace efforts of the parties in the region themselves.
One way to support those efforts is for the United States to discourage any outside power from trying to exploit the situation for its own advantage.
Another way for us to call current continuous truce into a permanent settlement is this.
The United States is fully prepared to play a responsible and cooperative role in keeping the peace derived after the negotiation between the parties.
The strategic arms limitation talks with the Soviet Union have been conducted in a mysterious way without the old lapses in the propaganda.
If both sides continue in that way, there is reason to hope that a Pacific agreement will be reached to curb the arms race.
Taking the first step in limiting the capacity of mankind to destroy itself would mark a turning point in the history of the post-war world.
It would add to the security of both the United States and the Soviet Union.
And it would add to the world's peace of mind.
A full generation of peace depends not only on the policy of one party, or one nation, or one alliance, or one bloc of nations.
Peace for the next generation depends on our ability to make certain that each nation has a share in its shaping, and that every nation has a stake in its last.
This is the hard way, requiring patience, restraint, understanding, and, when necessary, bold, decisive action.
A history has taught us to be old opponents.
A history has taught us...
I'll do that section again.
A full generation of peace depends not only on the policy of one party or one name or one alliance or one bloc of nations.
Peace for the next generation depends on our ability to make certain that each nation has a care initiated, and that every nation has a state in its last.
This is the hard way, requiring patience, restraint, understanding, and when necessary, bold, decisive action.
But history has taught us that the old diplomacy
of imposing a peace by the three other great powers, simply does not work.
I believe that the new diplomacy, of partnership, of mutual respect, of dealing with strength and determination, will work.
I believe that the right degree of American involvement, not too much and not too little, will evoke the right response from our other partners on this globe in building for our children the kind of world they deserve.
A world of opportunity in a world without war.
Okay, first person.
Across the front, gentleman on the side, please.

— 1 min 29 s with no transcribed speech —

Yeah.
So last year, we didn't know you were there.
Yeah.
We didn't know you were there.
We didn't know you were there.
We didn't know you were there.
All right.
The last two, right?
That's probably it.
It's all torches and guns.
Good.
That's fine.
Those are good.
Yeah.
That's good.
That's good.
Let me check that.
Did we get this car out of the way?
Yes, sir.
Yeah, that is fine.
It's probably fresh.
All right.
That's it.
Great.
Are we ready?
Oh, you're right, sir.
Yes, sir.
The strategic arms of the nation talks with the Soviet Union have been conducted in a serious way without the old lapses in their propaganda.
If both sides continue in this way, there is reason to hope that specific agreements will be reached to curb the armed race.
Taking the first step in limiting the capacity of mankind to destroy itself would mark a turning point in the history of the post-war world.
It would add to the security of both the Soviet Union and the United States.
And it would add to the world's peace of mind.
A full generation of peace depends not only on the policy of one party, of one nation, of one alliance, or one bloc of nations.
Peace for the next generation depends on our ability to make certain that each nation has a share in its capabilities, and that every nation has a stake in its legacy.
This is the hard way, requiring patience, restraint, understanding, and, when necessary, bold, precise action.
But history has taught us that the old diplomacy of imposing a peace by the field of great powers simply does not work.
I believe that the new diplomacy of partnership, of mutual respect, of dealing with strength and determination, will work.
I believe that the right degree of American involvement, not too lucky, not too limited, will evoke the right response.
from our other partners on this world in building for our children the kind of world they deserve, a world of opportunity and a world without war.
Is this it?
That's it.
It's kind of like something's happening.
It's kind of weird.
What was that?
It's a nice yellow.
Yeah.
It's not that yellow at all.
It was in the beginning.
It's not a little yellow.
It's not a little black.
It's not a little black.
It's not a little black.
Oh, my God.
We're not going to do anything more to take part in this thing.
All right.
Thank you.
Thank you.

Also recorded on February 25, 1971

  • 458-001 9:11 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:11 am and 11:00 am.
  • 048-003 10:56 AM · 7 min — during the signing of the Foreign Policy Message, President Richard M. Nixon and Mary D. Stifflemire, Bernice V. Alexander, Judith L. Johnson, William G. Hyland, W. Marshall Wright, Peter W. Rodman, C. Fred Bergsten, Harold H. Saunders, Nancy L. Meinking, Arnold Nachmanoff, Col. Robert M. Behr, John H. Holdridge, John Glancy, Col. Richard T. Kennedy, Winston Lord, Sheila R. Lopez, Dianne C. Matthews, Julienne L. Pineau, Dr. K. Wayne Smith, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 11:50 am.
  • 458-003 3:28 PM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:28 pm to 3:35 pm.
  • 458-004 3:35 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George Renercomb, Thomas S. Kleppe, Glenda L. (Gompf) Kleppe, Jill Kleppe, Jane Kleppe, Gladys Anderson, Ruth Edick, Anthony G. Chase, Arthur H. Singer, Marshall J. Parker, Jack Eachon, Jr., Arthur McZier, Howard Russell, Einar Johnson, Wilfred J. Gavin, John A. Knebel, Loren J. Rivard, Raymond E. Stull, Milton R. Young, Patricia M. (Burne) Young, Robert J. Dole, Silvio O. Conte, Joseph L. ("Joe") Evins, Christine Gallagher, Lucey Sharp, Dorothy A. Kabis, Magnus Lutnass, Rogers C. B. Morton, Clark MacGregor, and Maurice H. Stans met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:35 pm to 3:46 pm.
  • 458-005 3:46 PM · 19 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Felipe Herrera, Charls E. Walker, Henry J. Costanzo, and Ashley Hewitt met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:46 pm and 4:05 pm.
  • 458-006 4:05 PM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:07 pm.
  • 458-007 4:07 PM · 28 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Joe D. Waggonner, Jr., Juanita Morris Moody, John C. Whitaker, Richard K. Cook, White House photographer, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:07 pm to 4:34 pm.
  • 458-008 4:34 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Dwight L. Chapin met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:34 pm and 4:42 pm.

All 12 conversations from February 25, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 458-002, February 25, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417175995). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/458-002 (accessed November 2, 2026).