Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 637 › Conversation 637-017

Nixon, Sanchez & Butterfield on Presidential travel

Friday, December 10, 1971 · 12:22 PM–12:26 PM ET · Oval Office · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Sanchez, Manolo; Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation637-017 on Tape 637 (tape position 02:25:35–02:28:18)StartFriday, December 10, 1971 at 12:22 PMEndFriday, December 10, 1971 at 12:26 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 637-017 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal aide Manolo Sanchez and deputy assistant Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate logistics regarding the President’s travel schedule. The discussion centered on the timing and readiness of flight arrangements for upcoming trips. The group briefly reviewed these travel plans before Butterfield and Sanchez departed the Oval Office.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello, sir.

Go on.

I think it's too late, but oh, well.

Great company.

Well, he isn't ready yet, so will he.

You tell him that, uh,

And we are flying.

And we are out.

We are out.

NARA Description

On December 10, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:22 pm to 12:26 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 637-017 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 637-017

Date: December 12, 1971
Time: 12:22 pm - 12:26 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Manolo Sanchez.

       Location of items

       The President's schedule

Alexander P. Butterfield entered at 12:22 pm.

       [Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon’s] schedule

       The President's schedule
              -Airplane

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 12:26 pm.

       The President's schedule
              -Airplane
                      -Talk

Butterfield left at 12:26 pm.

Also recorded on December 10, 1971

637-014 12:04 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:04 pm to 12:06 pm.
637-015 12:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:22 pm.
637-016 12:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:06 pm and 12:22 pm.
016-078 12:14 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 12:14 pm to 12:15 pm.
635-013 12:15 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:15 pm and 12:19 pm.
635-014 12:15 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:15 pm and 12:19 pm.
635-015 12:19 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, David Packard, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:19 pm to 12:36 pm.
635-016 12:37 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Nicholas P. Timmesch, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:37 pm to 12:47 pm.

All 75 conversations from December 10, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 637-017, 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/637-017 (accessed October 5, 2026).