{"conversationCode":"639-020","tapeNumber":639,"conversationNumber":20,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-639-020","startDateTime":"1971-12-18T22:26:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-12-18T22:28:00.000Z","startDate":"18-Dec-1971","startTime":"5:26 PM","endDate":"18-Dec-1971","endTime":"5:28 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Connally, John B.;","description":"On December 18, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:26 pm to 5:28 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 639-020 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":2,"chronRelease":"Second Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"26-Oct-2000","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 639-020\n\nDate: December 18, 1971\nTime: 5:26 pm - 5:28 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\nThe President talked with John B. Connally.\n\n[See Conversation No. 16-118]","filename":["639-020.mp3"],"tapeStart":"02:04:36","tapeEnd":"02:05:52","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Connally, John B."],"prevCode":"639-019","nextCode":"639-021","transcript":[{"start":15.42,"end":22.33,"text":"I bet you what I've done, I've delayed my New York Department of Air Force Air Force, and then the motor came in there."},{"start":22.57,"end":26.95,"text":"I delayed it 20 minutes, so... How long did it take you to get there?"},{"start":26.97,"end":28.45,"text":"About 10 minutes, about 10 minutes to fly."},{"start":28.83,"end":35.62,"text":"And then if I could get away from there by 10 or 16, that was 16, about as late as 20 minutes."},{"start":43.67,"end":46.41,"text":"and congratulate everybody and thank them."},{"start":47.95,"end":48.87,"text":"Take them to the press."},{"start":50.59,"end":52.8,"text":"Yeah, we'll just sort it over with the press."},{"start":54.3,"end":55.96,"text":"And then we'll say a word."},{"start":57.14,"end":59,"text":"Oh, I have one thing to tell you."},{"start":59.14,"end":63.97,"text":"This is the most down-to-earth story, the most critical, as far as we can expect it to be happening."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and John Connally discuss the logistics of an upcoming trip, specifically timing their travel and public engagement to accommodate a press briefing. They coordinate the sequence of events, focusing on how to effectively address the media after thanking their associates. The brief exchange concludes with Connally noting a critical, high-priority matter that requires the President's attention.","topics":["Logistics","Media Relations","Scheduling","Press Briefing","Public Relations"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-07T01:37:02.249Z"},"topicSlugs":["logistics","media-relations","scheduling","press-briefing","public-relations"],"audioDurationSec":78,"audioFiles":[{"file":"639-020.mp3","bytes":3110912,"durationSec":77.64,"bitrate":320537,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:54.662Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:44:11.554Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/639-020.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/639-020","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/639/conversation-639-020","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}