Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 509 › Conversation 509-018

Nixon & Woods on Blair House and Anti-war demonstrations

Thursday, June 3, 1971 · 3:17 PM–3:27 PM ET · Oval Office · 8 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation509-018 on Tape 509 (tape position 02:41:01–02:49:22)StartThursday, June 3, 1971 at 3:17 PMEndThursday, June 3, 1971 at 3:27 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 509-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met to discuss various administrative and personal matters, including the Blair House Fine Arts Committee's proposal to create a new reception hall in honor of the President and First Lady. They also addressed concerns regarding ongoing anti-war demonstrations, with the President expressing frustration over the behavior of the protestors. Additionally, the conversation touched upon the logistics of David Eisenhower's stay at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and administrative notes regarding gifts and correspondence.

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 21% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Oh, I've got one.
All right.
Come on.
Here, Senator.
Did you try him?
I don't know about that.
Send him out to Steve McCartney.
I need to say this better than anything I've ever done.
Yeah?
I need to get back out to my part of the house.
Yeah, we need it.
Here it's here.
You'll think of some people that are in the house.
Ask the treasurer.
He said, I have tenants in a very good level.
There might be somebody down here that's a good friend.
Some more scotch.
You got it.
You got it in six boxes.
So you can get them all the way.
You can meet them at the police station.
Sheriff's.
God, I hate Lawrence.
They were all delighted with that press conference.
They really are.
They really are.
And you handled that just beautifully.
Well, these are demonstrators.
These people are so sick.
These people brought up
Oh, and these, perhaps, say they've got permits for the ellipse on the day of the wedding and all that business.
It's just sickening.
They're going to have a rockin' old thing.
They're going to get the radio time thing.
If they move it out front, we'll go out there.
And if they go underground, we'll burrow in underground.
And we're going to put some Geritol Electro or something in the punch.
If you want to know what that is, that's LSD.
I just put that in the ring myself.
I mean, it can sit there and leave my dumb kids like that on the air.
Which group is it?
It's the same one?
No, some of them.
No, it's a different group.
One thing they've got to do, they're going to cut off the air sound system.
I'm sure you've heard of it.
I don't think you'd be able to hear it anyway.
You can't.
You can't hear it.
You can't hear it.
I mean, I don't mind when it's inside.
But if that's always going on, I'm sure it's going to have that effect.
I don't know.
Mrs. Mossbeck has sent a letter telling about the work they've done on the Blair House Fine Arts Committee and so forth.
And they have a, they want, she wants to, without making any announcements, make this big new reception hall where most events will be held now.
She wants that to be a living tribute to you and Mrs. Nixon.
Well, see what they're doing is that place called Lafayette Square is joined now to Blair House, so that the house itself will be used as a house, and the big reception room is where they'll have most of the receptions.
Well, is there something that is?
Yeah, they've joined those together, you know, there's a...
And she's listed who all went and cured them and so forth.
And I think, I don't know if you think it's a great idea, of course nothing can be said about it now.
What they should do is make a piece and try it.
Well, because the others have been served.
They either are a president or... And I don't know if you're interested in seeing who all gave their name to Greece, purchasing of that player house.
I don't look this way, except I have an infection in my eyes.
Now, Walter Beinecke has given $100,000 as a gift to the Nantucket Historical Trust, so that's what they're going to start with.
I agree.
I don't think that you have to do that.
Oh, I don't mind.
I don't know what happened, but I'm going to have fun.
I'll be from 3.30 to 4.30.
4.00.
So you've got music playing here, you know.
So if that was where I'm at, most of it.
They really blast, you know, I heard my character in the air.
They look so damn bad.
That's all I'm doing.
Come on with this stuff.
They're evil.
Yeah, they look evil.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Well, I think everything is... One more question on Julie.
She even asked whether, because there was any comment about David staying at the embassy in Athens,
Because he didn't serve?
I don't know.
No, sir.
Are you?
No, I think it'd be more free.
I think the events of it will be bombarded.
They don't want that.
But I think... That's not how he's got the President's daughter to stay there.
That's what I thought.
That's what I think we did.
And I think I believe that there are a lot of those.
Thank you.
Good for your eyes.

NARA Description

On June 3, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:17 pm to 3:27 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 509-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 509-018

Date: June 3, 1971
Time: 3:17 pm - 3:27 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Rose Mary Woods

     Woods’ conversation with Thelma C. (Ryan) (“Pat”) Nixon

     Cigars
          -John W. McCormack

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

            -President of Nicaragua
            -Wording of notes
            -Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons

     President’s previous meeting with police officials
           -Support for President
           -May Day demonstrators

******************************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 05/29/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[509-018-w001]
[Duration: 1m 35s]

     Tricia Nixon Cox’s wedding
           -Demonstrations
                -Permits
                -Rock and Roll
                -Lysergic Acid Diethylamide [LSD]
                -Cut off sound system
                -Patrick J. Buchanan [?]

******************************************************************************

     Blair House Fine Arts Committee
           -Patricia R. Mosbacher’s letter
           -Blair House reception hall
           -Lafayette Square
           -Mrs. Nixon
           -Blair House refurbishing
                 -Walter Beinecke’s contribution
                       -Nantucket Historical Trust

******************************************************************************

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 05/29/2019.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[509-018-w002]
[Duration: 47s]

     Tricia Nixon Cox’s wedding
           -Demonstrations
                -Half-hour
                -Rose Mary Woods’s opinion
                -Sound system can be heard at the White House

******************************************************************************

     Demonstrators
         -Appearance
         -Actions

     [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II
           -US Embassy in Athens
                -Military status
                -Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s conversation with Woods
     Cigar

Woods left at 3:27 pm

Also recorded on June 3, 1971

  • 509-010 1:57 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:57 pm and 2:47 pm.
  • 004-020 2:47 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 509-014 2:47 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:47 pm to 3:06 pm.
  • 004-021 3:06 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 3:06 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 509-015 3:06 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:06 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 509-016 3:07 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 509-017 3:07 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 509-019 3:27 PM · 1 hr 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Robert J. Dole, John N. Mitchell, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:27 pm to 4:49 pm.

All 24 conversations from June 3, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 509-018, June 3, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/509-018 (accessed October 18, 2026).