Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 553 › Conversation 553-005

Nixon & Warren on Apollo 15 and Steel strike

Monday, August 2, 1971 · 9:55 AM–9:56 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Warren, Gerald L.Conversation553-005 on Tape 553 (tape position 00:45:35–00:48:17)StartMonday, August 2, 1971 at 9:55 AMEndMonday, August 2, 1971 at 9:56 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 553-005 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417178723 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Gerald L. Warren coordinated the administration’s messaging regarding the ongoing Apollo 15 mission and the sensitivity of the pending steel strike. They finalized logistics for the President to view the Apollo lift-off from the Executive Office Building and discussed the need for further briefings from George Shultz and John Connally. The discussion emphasized the delicate nature of the labor negotiations and the need for careful public positioning on the economy.

Audio

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NARA Description

On August 2, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Gerald L. Warren met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:55 am to 9:56 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 553-005 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 553-5

Date: August 2, 1971
Time: 9:55 am - 9:56 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Gerald L. Warren.

     Forthcoming press conference
          -George Shultz
                 -Steel strike
                       -Announcement
           -Apollo lift-off
                 -President’s viewing
                       -Executive Office Building [EOB]
                 -President’s view
           -National economy
           -Steel strike
                 -Shultz, John B. Connally briefing

Warren left at 9:56 am.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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How do you want me to position you on the Apollo liftoff today, Mr. President?
Do the liftoff about 1 to 15.
I'll watch it.
Good.
I'll be watching over the AOV.
Can I say, did you watch some of the Land Rover?
Yeah, yesterday and Sunday.
After the software, you're obviously pretty successful.
Yeah, great success.
Very good.
That's all I have on my list.
Okay, thank you.
And the strike is very sensitive.
This is the other thing we're going to work on.
We're going to talk with him and comment a bit about it.
He'll come and give me further nuances.
In fact, he may want to have him.
Well, I don't know.
We'll see if I can be able to say so.

Also recorded on August 2, 1971

  • 007-041 8:52 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:52 am and 9:42 am.
  • 553-003 9:20 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), White House operator, and George P. Shultz met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:20 am to 9:50 am.
  • 007-042 9:42 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and George P. Shultz talked on the telephone from 9:42 am to 9:45 am.
  • 007-043 9:45 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 12:00 pm.
  • 007-044 9:45 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:45 am and 12:00 pm.
  • 553-004 9:50 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:50 am and 9:55 am.
  • 553-006 9:58 AM · 4 hr 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Stephen B. Bull, John B. Connally, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Carl T. Curtis, Barry M. Goldwater, John D. Ehrlichman, Edward L. Morgan, George D. Aiken, Manolo Sanchez, J. Caleb Boggs, and Clark MacGregor met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:58 am to 2:05 pm.
  • 269-008 10:46 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:46 am to 10:56 pm.

All 40 conversations from August 2, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 553-005, August 2, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417178723). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/553-005 (accessed November 1, 2026).