Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 524 › Conversation 524-006

Nixon & Chapin on Public opinion polling and White House staffing

Thursday, June 17, 1971 · 9:52 AM–9:55 AM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Chapin, Dwight L.Conversation524-006 on Tape 524 (tape position 00:23:30–00:27:07)StartThursday, June 17, 1971 at 9:52 AMEndThursday, June 17, 1971 at 9:55 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 524-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Dwight L. Chapin met to coordinate administrative logistics, including staffing roles for Stephen B. Bull and Lucy A. Winchester, as well as gift arrangements for the Tricia Nixon wedding. The discussion primarily focused on analyzing the timing and release strategies of public opinion polls, specifically comparing White House phone polls with Gallup poll cycles. They concluded by reconciling the timing of recent polling efforts with the President’s travel schedule to ensure optimal public relations impact.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 22% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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'm sorry.
I was trying to get a blow on something.
OK. Yeah, we'll see what it does.
OK, great.
$12.45.
$12.45.
Okay, I got it at 12.15, the apartment at 12.30.
Where is it?
Do you want to take it to the mini-con?
Have you ever given a referral to Anderson?
Is this for the wedding?
I was thinking I'd get her a video.
When did your...
Well, they were out on July 4th, or June 4th.
They were out.
It's a coincidence.
We got a call in this morning to find out.
We don't know what they did.
That's right.
But the main point was, well, we were out there, too, though.
What, June?
July.
I don't know what the date for it was.
No, no, no.
Our boat was taken over.
It was when you went to Oklahoma, which, I'm trying to remember, was that weekend because you... No, that ended in the weather.
I thought it was the week that our talk, or our talk, was taken after the, you know, first press conference.
That's right.
It would have been in June.
They didn't pull them.
They didn't pull them.
Yeah, I think they pulled.
I think we were fine if they pulled the same weekend.
You went to Oklahoma on June 5th.
You know, the way back to Oklahoma was when you had that other question.
That's the place in another deployment.
So that would have meant that they bowled the same week that we did.
Now, I'll have to check the meeting.
I'm going to, I'll make sure to come out with that.
That's right.
It would have been the same time.
Well, good.
Then they bowled again in July.
It's really strange the way that these dance teams are.
Okay.
Sometimes they're twice a month.
The last thing that got popularity was, uh, was the main bowl.
They put it in the magazine, right?
They put it out in June, right?
That's right.
You know, when it was business money in June.
That's right, yes.
See, they're not, they're not gonna do that for us.
We pulled, we pulled two weeks.
We pulled June for it ourselves, and they pulled June for it.
Right.
Even if they pulled again two weeks later,
No, we pulled on June the 4th.
Yeah.
Well, they did too.
All right.
But you said they had a little chance.
No, we didn't get it.
No, they haven't put theirs out yet.
Oh, I see.
You don't mean they're pulling now?
No.
No.
They will be in the field next week.
Yeah, nobody has pulled since the wedding.
Sorry.

NARA Description

On June 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Dwight L. Chapin met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:52 am to 9:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 524-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 524-6

Date: June 17, 1971
Time: 9:52 am - 9:55 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Dwight L. Chapin.

     President's schedule
           -Stephen B. Bull's role
           -Lucy A. Winchester
           -Henry A. Kissinger
           -Barber
           -Other meetings
           -Gift selection for Winchester
          -Wedding of Edward R.F. and Tricia Nixon Cox
          -Polls
                 -Gallup poll
                 -Timing
                       -Related to President's Oklahoma trip
                       -Administration's phone polls
                       -Other polls
                       -July poll
                       -Release of results

Chapin left at 9:55 am.

Also recorded on June 17, 1971

  • 062-002 9:48 AM · 1 hr 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon and members of the National Security Council, including Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, William P. Rogers, Melvin R. Laird, John B. Connally, Gen. George A. Lincoln, John N. Mitchell, David Packard, Richard M. Helms, Adm. Thomas H. Moorer, Gerard C. Smith, Philip J. Farley, John N. Irwin, II, Martin J. Hillenbrand, Henry A. Kissinger, Dr. K. Wayne Smith, Helmut ("Hal") Sonnenfeldt, and William Newton, met in the Cabinet Room of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 11:59 pm.
  • 524-004 9:48 AM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:48 am and 9:51 am.
  • 524-005 9:51 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:51 am and 9:52 am.
  • 524-007 9:55 AM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:55 am and 9:58 am.
  • 524-008 9:58 AM · 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:58 am to 10:34 am.
  • 524-009 10:34 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:34 am and 10:39 am.
  • 524-011 10:39 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Lucy A. Winchester, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:39 am to 10:47 am.
  • 524-012 10:47 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:47 am and 10:58 am.

All 75 conversations from June 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 524-006, June 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/524-006 (accessed October 22, 2026).