Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 503 › Conversation 503-020

Nixon, Haldeman & Butterfield on Presidential Libraries and San Clemente

Friday, May 21, 1971 · 6:04 PM–6:26 PM ET · Oval Office · 7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation503-020 on Tape 503 (tape position 04:42:27–04:49:47)StartFriday, May 21, 1971 at 6:04 PMEndFriday, May 21, 1971 at 6:26 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 503-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, and Alexander Butterfield met to coordinate upcoming presidential remarks and review scheduling logistics. The discussion included planning for an honorary dinner for Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle and television arrangements for the upcoming Lyndon B. Johnson library dedication ceremony. Nixon also expressed his personal preference to avoid future use of a presidential library, favoring his office in San Clemente instead.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 2 minutes of this recording (about 23% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Should be there.
All right.
Through and out of two days.
This is it.
It is a replica.
It's reduced slightly in scale, but very slightly.
You know, let me say this.
I have no intention, absolutely no intention, of the whole library planning.
You don't want to know what I was doing?
No, I don't.
I don't really intend ever to use, I don't even go near the goddamn library.
I'm going to work, I'm going to use my home.
You know what I mean?
Now, my office is going to be in San Clemente, you see.
So I don't even plan that.
I dream of having an office.
I wouldn't think you would.
I don't know.
If you wanted anything on the guy, you'd have it sent over.
I'd go with whatever is adequate.
All you need to do is be nice and not cool to each other.
Do that.
but they can't get, yeah, well, he's trying to get something settled.
They've apparently been going back and forth, and it's getting, do you agree with what you want?
No, what you wanted to do is to have an informal dinner to honor the graduates in the Washington area of his West Point class on their 25th anniversary.
They can't get full class representation because some of the alumni are going up to West Point for their activities up there at that time.
So they're suggesting that we fly down
from West Point, who would be up there, and then invite a number of other distinguished guests who have some relationship to Nicaragua to make a dinner of about 25 or 30 people.
How many?
I think 40.
Oh, she has, great.
They run a live national TV time program there.
They're starting from the beginning of the ceremony.
Billy Graham, national anthemist.
If they all go on time, you'll go on in about a minute and see who goes on.
Well, they'll never get a change.
What the hell?
The top of the toilet just got decided when I run five.
I don't think they just go right on.
Yeah, something like that.
I hope the side of the action.
They're never going to get to me.
I'm not going to let them get to you.
You know that.
Of course, you never go on in front of them.
I don't know what they got counseling for.
But they've got an indication of welcome by the Board of Trustees.
Any of them?

NARA Description

On May 21, 1971, 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. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 503-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 503-20

Date: May 21, 1971
Time: 6:04 pm - unknown before 6:26 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     President's remarks for tomorrow, May 22, 1971
           -1st draft
           -Ronald L. Ziegler

             -Text

Butterfield left and H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman entered at 6:07 pm.

     Presidential libraries
           -Lyndon B. Johnson
           -Harry S. Truman
           -San Clemente
           -Office at library

     President's remarks for tomorrow, May 22, 1971
           -News
           -Style

     [Pause]

     Anastasio Somoza Debayle
          -Visit to US
                -Honorary dinner
                      -Somoza's West Point Alumni fellows
                          -Nicaragua
                          -Attendance

Butterfield entered at an unknown time after 6:07 pm.

     Press

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 6:26 pm.

     Television

     William F. (“Billy”) Graham

     [Pause]

     President's schedule
           -Lyndon B. Johnson library ceremony
                 -Television coverage
                 -Program

Haldeman left at an unknown time before 6:26 pm.

Also recorded on May 21, 1971

  • 503-018 5:58 PM · 36 sec — 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.
  • 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.
  • 503-021 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.
  • 253-006 6:34 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:34 pm and 7:05 pm.

All 40 conversations from May 21, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 503-020, 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/503-020 (accessed October 12, 2026).