Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-004

Nixon & Waggonner on Newsletter and Press Relations

Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 7:26 AM–7:55 AM ET · Oval Office · 31 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Waggonner, Joe D., Jr.Conversation500-004 on Tape 500 (tape position 00:07:46–00:09:13)StartTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 7:26 AMEndTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 7:55 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 500-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Representative Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. to discuss the contents and reception of Waggonner's recent newsletter. The conversation centered on the political messaging within the publication and its potential impact on media coverage. Nixon acknowledged the newsletter's effectiveness, suggesting a shared interest in managing public perception through strategic communication.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Dear Joe, uh, good enough to give me a copy of your... Good enough to give me a copy of your main newsletter, great.
Uh, it's not quite personal, you know.
I noticed that was the way I set up the wall when I read it.
For the time and, uh, guest exchange press course.
Exclamation mark, previous.

NARA Description

On May 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Joe D. Waggonner, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 500-4

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 7:26 am and 7:55 am
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a letter to Joe D. Waggoner, Jr.

     Newsletter
         -Gerald R. Ford
         -[Unintelligible]
         -Press

Also recorded on May 18, 1971

  • 500-001 7:26 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
  • 500-002 7:26 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
  • 500-003 7:26 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Landrum Bolling met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 7:26 am and 7:55 am.
  • 500-005 7:55 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:55 am to 7:56 am.
  • 500-006 7:58 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 7:58 am to 8:02 am.
  • 058-001 8:02 AM · 1 hr 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Melvin R. Laird, and Republican Congressional leaders, including U. Alexis Johnson, Robert P. Griffin, Norris Cotton, Peter H. Dominick, Gerald R. Ford, Leslie C. Arends, John B. Anderson, Barber B. Conable, Jr., Richard H. Poff, Robert C. ("Bob") Wilson, John J. Rhodes, Robert T. Stafford, H. Allen Smith, Robert J. Dole, Peter G. Peterson, George P. Shultz, John D. Ehrlichman, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, Harry S. Dent, Ronald L. Ziegler, Bryce N. Harlow, and Kenneth E. BeLieu, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 8:02 am to 9:33 am.
  • 500-007 8:02 AM · 34 sec — Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:02 am and 9:33 am.
  • 003-058 9:33 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 9:34 am.

All 42 conversations from May 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 500-004, May 18, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/500-004 (accessed September 28, 2026).