Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 503 › Conversation 503-018

Nixon & Butterfield on Public remarks

Friday, May 21, 1971 · 5:58 PM–6:00 PM ET · Oval Office · 36 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation503-018 on Tape 503 (tape position 04:40:28–04:42:04)StartFriday, May 21, 1971 at 5:58 PMEndFriday, May 21, 1971 at 6:00 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 503-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate preparations and review remarks for the President's upcoming schedule on May 22, 1971. The brief discussion focused on finalizing the details of the President's public messaging and agenda for the following day. No significant policy decisions were recorded during this short administrative consultation.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.

NARA Description

On May 21, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:58 pm to 6:00 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 503-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 503-18

Date: May 21, 1971
Time: 5:58 pm - 6:00 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     President's remarks for tomorrow, May 22, 1971

Butterfield left at 6:00 pm.

Also recorded on May 21, 1971

  • 503-017 5:26 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert D. Murphy, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:26 pm to 5:55 pm.
  • 503-019 6:00 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:00 pm and 6:04 pm.
  • 503-020 6:04 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:04 pm and 6:26 pm.
  • 503-021 6:07 PM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:07 pm and 6:26 pm.
  • 503-022 6:07 PM · 43 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:07 pm and 6:26 pm.
  • 503-023 6:07 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:07 pm and 6:26 pm.
  • 503-024 6:07 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo, White House operator, and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 6:07 pm and 6:34 pm.
  • 003-112 6:26 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 6:26 pm to 6:28 pm.

All 40 conversations from May 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 503-018, May 21, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/503-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).