Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 544 › Conversation 544-010

Nixon & Baker on Milton Friedman and Economic policy

Friday, July 23, 1971 · 1:03 PM–1:21 PM ET · Oval Office ·12 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Baker, StevenConversation544-010 onTape 544 (tape position 03:25:31–03:27:18)StartFriday, July 23, 1971 at 1:03 PMEndFriday, July 23, 1971 at 1:21 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 544-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his aide, Stephen B. Bull, to review a copy of an article authored by economist Milton Friedman. The discussion focused on the materials presented in the article and the President's reaction to its contents. No formal policy decisions were recorded during this brief administrative exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.5 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

I'm sorry, they had it attached.

I didn't know they had it attached.

It was supposed to happen.

I didn't realize it.

It's going to be easy to remember.

I thought, oh, this is fine.

NARA Description

On July 23, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Steven Baker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:03 pm and 1:21 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 544-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 544-10

Date: July 23, 1971

Time: Unknown between 1:03 pm and 1:21 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with an unknown man [Stephen B. Bull].

     Copy of article by Milton Friedman

Also recorded on July 23, 1971

544-008 10:26 AM · 2 hr 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Edwin L. Harper, Ronald L. Ziegler, Paul W. McCracken, Henry A. Kissinger, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:26 am to 1:03 pm.
544-009 1:03 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:03 pm and 1:21 pm.
544-011 1:21 PM · 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:21 pm to 1:47 pm.
544-012 1:47 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 1:55 pm.
544-013 1:47 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 1:55 pm.
544-014 1:47 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:47 pm and 3:11 pm.
006-197 1:55 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:55 pm and 2:01 pm.
066-002 3:11 PM · 2 hr 51 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, John D. Ehrlichman, George P. Shultz, Caspar W. ("Cap") Weinberger, Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Edwin L. Harper, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Cabinet Room of the White House from 3:11 pm to 6:45 pm.

All 20 conversations from July 23, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 544-010, July 23, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/544-010 (accessed September 18, 2026).