Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 500 › Conversation 500-027

Nixon & Haldeman on Administration Strategy and Henry Kissinger

Tuesday, May 18, 1971 · 4:05 PM–4:06 PM ET · Oval Office · 20 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation500-027 on Tape 500 (tape position 04:15:14–04:15:51)StartTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 4:05 PMEndTuesday, May 18, 1971 at 4:06 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 500-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman met to coordinate scheduling and strategy regarding upcoming meetings with Henry Kissinger, John Scali, and Ronald Ziegler. The brief discussion emphasized the political importance of the events slated for the following weekend. The participants aimed to ensure alignment among key advisors to effectively manage the administration's messaging.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I'm Henry Scali, Ron.

Let's talk about this thing a little bit.

This weekend and so forth is important.

I'll be worried.

NARA Description

On May 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:05 pm and 4:06 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 500-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 500-27

Date: May 18, 1971
Time: Unknown between 4:05 pm and 4:06 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with an H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     President's schedule
           -Henry A. Kissinger, John A. Scali, and Ronald L. Ziegler

[End of conversation]

The President left at 4:06 pm.

Also recorded on May 18, 1971

500-023 3:04 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:06 pm.
500-024 3:04 PM · 32 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:04 pm and 3:06 pm.
500-025 3:06 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Stephen B. Bull, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:06 pm to 3:40 pm.
500-026 3:42 PM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, Stephen B. Bull, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:42 pm to 4:05 pm.
500-028 4:06 PM · 1 min — Stephen B. Bull, unknown person(s), and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:06 pm and 4:41 pm.
500-036 4:41 PM · 20 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:41 pm and 4:42 pm.
500-029 4:42 PM · 22 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John A. Scali, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, John D. Ehrlichman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:42 pm to 5:05 pm.
500-030 5:05 PM · 1 hr 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Herbert G. Klein, Robert Lubar, James W. Michaels, Lewis H. Young, Robert M. Bleiberg, Joseph E. Evans, [Pawhatan] Jack Wooldridge, Jr., Raymond J. Brady, Thomas Mulloney, Howard W. Fleiger, Marshall Loeb, Lester Bernstein, Henry Gemmill, White House photographer, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:05 pm to 6:34 pm.

All 42 conversations from May 18, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 500-027, 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/500-027 (accessed September 28, 2026).