Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 635 › Conversation 635-004

Nixon & Butterfield on Barry Goldwater and White House Administration

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 8:48 AM–9:10 AM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation635-004 on Tape 635 (tape position 00:15:15–00:17:45)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 8:48 AMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 9:10 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 635-004 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Butterfield met to coordinate the President's upcoming daily schedule and manage several high-level appointments. They specifically discussed the need to reschedule a meeting with Senator Barry Goldwater due to the Senator's travel, ensuring the postponement was framed in a way that distanced the President from any scheduling conflicts. The conversation concluded with instructions to handle the logistics of these meetings—including engagements involving John Ehrlichman, George Shultz, and Clark MacGregor—while maintaining appropriate administrative buffers.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.6 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).

Gregor said he had an emergency that was coming up.

He didn't say what time.

He's gone to Dallas.

He's going to Dallas, he says.

Well then, let me be sure.

They said Barry asked me to be postponed.

Well, no, Barry didn't have to be a post-bomber.

We're trying to show the scale that you and my grand-grandmother were not buried here.

I'm fine with that.

You understand what I'm trying to say?

And instead of somebody saying that Barry can't be here, we want to have him at a time when he can.

Is that what they're going to tell him, or how they're going to handle it most of the time?

That's the way they're going to handle it.

It should be.

Yeah, but I mean, tell the other folks why.

Yes, sir.

Don't put it on me, you see.

Barry had to go off, and we're going to try to schedule it in time, because I don't need to be here.

That's precisely what it is.

Good?

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:48 am and 9:10 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 635-004 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 635-004

Date: December 10, 1971
Time: Unknown between 8:48 am and 9:10 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President’s schedule
          -Meeting
               -Call from Barry M. Goldwater
                      -Dulles Airport
                      -John D. Ehrlichman
                      -George P. Shultz
                      -Clark MacGregor
               -Possible handling

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 9:10 am.

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

016-077 8:23 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 12:14 pm.
635-001 8:23 AM · 54 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:23 am and 8:38 am.
637-001 8:32 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:32 am and 8:38 am.
635-003 8:38 AM · 9 min — President Richard M.Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:38 am to 8:48 am.
637-002 8:38 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 8:38 am.
637-003 8:45 AM · 1 hr 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:45 am to 9:42 am.
635-005 8:48 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:48 am and 9:10 am.
635-006 9:10 AM · 1 hr 20 min — Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:10 am to 10:31 am.

All 75 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 635-004, December 10, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/635-004 (accessed September 21, 2026).