Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 487 › Conversation 487-008

Nixon & Bull on Deafness and Communication

Friday, April 23, 1971 · 12:19 PM ET · Oval Office · 22 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation487-008 on Tape 487 (tape position 02:40:23–02:41:43)StartFriday, April 23, 1971 at 12:19 PMEndFriday, April 23, 1971 at 12:19 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 487-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his aide Stephen B. Bull to discuss logistical arrangements for an upcoming public engagement involving a two-year-old deaf child. The conversation centered on the child's communication abilities and potential interactions during the meeting. The President specifically considered how to facilitate a comfortable environment for the child while managing the broader constraints of his daily schedule.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.5 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

His first arrival at Dura is death-sickness.
He's growing in a way that you can communicate with him.
It happened.
Just, just, James has to.
He won't have it.
Let him be the one.
But he's left.
He knows that he does.
He just knows that a few landslides to his parents.
He's only two years old.
Probably.

NARA Description

On April 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:19 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 487-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 487-8

Date: April 23, 1971
Time: 12:19 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     The President's schedule
          -Open door hour
               -Deaf child
                      -Communication
                      -Lip-reading
                      -Age

Bull left at 12:19 pm.

Also recorded on April 23, 1971

  • 487-006 11:47 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:47 am and 11:56 am.
  • 487-007 11:56 AM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:56 am to 12:19 pm.
  • 487-009 12:20 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Michael Newton, Richard Newton, Mrs. Richard Newton, Mary Switzer, Edward C. Merrill, Jr., Edgar B. Porter, Bradley P. Dunn, Susan Segrest, Mary Haimbach, Karen Luzak, George T. Bell, Lee W. Huebner, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:20 pm to 12:28 pm.
  • 487-010 12:28 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:28 pm.
  • 487-011 12:29 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John H. Buchanan, Jr., James B. Allen, Norman Pless, Elton Stevens, George Siebels, John E. Nidecker, Lee W. Huebner, and Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:29 pm to 12:40 pm.
  • 487-012 12:40 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:40 pm.
  • 487-013 12:41 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry C. Cashen, II, Raymond Cashen, Mrs. Raymond Cashen, Arnold Sax, and Mrs. Arnold Sax met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:41 pm to 12:42 pm.
  • 487-014 12:42 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:42 pm and 12:52 pm.

All 32 conversations from April 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 487-008, April 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/487-008 (accessed October 11, 2026).