{"conversationCode":"499-020","tapeNumber":499,"conversationNumber":20,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-499-020","startDateTime":"1971-05-14T16:05:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-05-14T16:06:00.000Z","startDate":"14-May-1971","startTime":"12:05 PM","endDate":"14-May-1971","endTime":"12:06 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Rumsfeld, Donald H.;","description":"On May 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Donald H. Rumsfeld met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:05 pm to 12:06 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 499-020 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 499-20\n\nDate: May 14, 1971\nTime: 12:05 pm - 12:06 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President met with Donald H. Rumsfeld\n\n     A call\n\n     A report\n\n     Ellen McConnell\n           -Swearing-in, May 14, 1971\n\n     Cabinet's actions\n          -John A. Volpe, George W. Romney, John B. Connally, Clifford M. Hardin\n\n     President's schedule\n           -Tree planting\n                 -President's remarks\n                 -Charles H. Percy\n\nThe President and Rumsfeld left at 12:06 pm.","filename":["499-020.mp3"],"tapeStart":"01:36:24","tapeEnd":"01:37:30","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Rumsfeld, Donald H."],"prevCode":"499-019","nextCode":"499-021","transcript":[{"start":0.03,"end":23.97,"text":"I'm anxious to know two things."},{"start":23.99,"end":25.31,"text":"One is Ellen McConnell and her parents are on the left near Chuck."},{"start":25.33,"end":26.93,"text":"She was sworn in at 10 o'clock this morning as one of the first female patients."},{"start":26.95,"end":27.11,"text":"Oh, yes."},{"start":27.13,"end":28.09,"text":"Secondly, your cabinet has done a darn good job."},{"start":28.11,"end":28.97,"text":"Hershey had both been romping and cuddling."},{"start":28.99,"end":29.09,"text":"So..."},{"start":29.34,"end":44.67,"text":"What do you want me to say to him?"},{"start":44.69,"end":45.57,"text":"I've got to give it an awful lot of respect."},{"start":45.59,"end":47.91,"text":"I think, uh, he's a nice little person, but if he wasn't a person, you know, he might just, you know, be a good guy."},{"start":47.93,"end":49.03,"text":"And, uh, and I think, uh, uh, that's what people think."},{"start":49.05,"end":49.27,"text":"Yeah, yeah."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Donald Rumsfeld met briefly to discuss the swearing-in of Ellen McConnell and the performance of the Cabinet. They specifically reviewed the contributions of cabinet members John A. Volpe, George W. Romney, John B. Connally, and Clifford M. Hardin. Additionally, they coordinated on the President's upcoming schedule, including remarks to be delivered at a tree-planting ceremony involving Senator Charles H. Percy.","topics":["Cabinet performance","Ellen McConnell","Swearing-in ceremony","White House schedule","Tree planting","Charles H. Percy"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T22:17:52.532Z"},"topicSlugs":["cabinet-performance","ellen-mcconnell","swearing-in-ceremony","white-house-schedule","tree-planting","charles-h-percy"],"audioDurationSec":66,"audioFiles":[{"file":"499-020.mp3","bytes":2638158,"durationSec":65.82,"bitrate":320668,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:49.683Z","transcriptGapSeconds":39,"transcriptGapShare":0.59,"transcriptQuality":"incomplete","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/499-020.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/499-020","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/499/conversation-499-020","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}