Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 494 › Conversation 494-005

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Public opinion polling

Saturday, May 8, 1971 · 1:12 PM–1:35 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation494-005 on Tape 494 (tape position 02:55:50–02:56:22)StartSaturday, May 8, 1971 at 1:12 PMEndSaturday, May 8, 1971 at 1:35 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 494-005 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and an unidentified associate reviewed the polling data to assess the impact of his recent press conference on public approval ratings. They analyzed shifting percentages and confirmed that while the raw numbers fluctuated, the overall margin remained stable at a 19-point spread. The exchange functioned as a brief evaluation of the administration's current standing with the American public.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 106.9 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 02:55:50 into the tape and ends around 02:56:22.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
2:55:50Our last poll was right after the last press conference was 53-33, right?
2:55:56Now it's 53-31.
2:55:57Oh, and the approval is 53-34.
2:56:0053-34 after the last press conference.
2:56:03Right.
2:56:03After the last press conference.
2:56:0553-34.
2:56:05It was 51-33 before the press conference.
2:56:0951-33 before the press conference.
2:56:12Then it was 53-34.
2:56:13Yeah.
2:56:13Now it's 50-31.
2:56:1519-point.
2:56:15The spread is the same.
2:56:18Yeah.
2:56:1853-34, 53-31.
2:56:19Yeah, 19-point.
2:56:19It's a little better before the press spread.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:35 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 494-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 494-5

Date: May 8, 1971
Time: Unknown between 1:12 pm and 1:35 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with an unknown person.

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BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 11s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

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The unknown person left at an unknown time before 1:35 pm.

Also recorded on May 8, 1971

  • 494-004 10:33 AM · 2 hr 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, Ronald L. Ziegler, John D. Ehrlichman, White House operator, and John N. Mitchell met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:33 am to 1:12 pm.
  • 002-124 11:45 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:45 am and 11:49 am.
  • 002-125 11:49 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John N. Mitchell talked on the telephone from 11:49 am to 11:51 am.
  • 494-006 1:35 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:35 pm and 1:40 pm.
  • 494-007 1:50 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 1:55 pm.
  • 494-008 1:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 494-009 1:55 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 002-126 2:40 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:40 pm and 6:50 pm.

All 13 conversations from May 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 494-005, May 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/494-005 (accessed October 3, 2026).