Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 658 › Conversation 658-006

Nixon & Bull on Maurice Stans and Silent Majority

Thursday, January 27, 1972 · 11:12 AM–11:13 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation658-006 on Tape 658 (tape position 02:16:17–02:16:45)StartThursday, January 27, 1972 at 11:12 AMEndThursday, January 27, 1972 at 11:13 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 658-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Stephen B. Bull briefly met in the Oval Office to coordinate the President’s schedule, specifically regarding a forthcoming meeting with Secretary of Commerce Maurice H. Stans. The conversation also touched upon broader political themes, with the President reflecting on the perceived moral decay of Washington and his belief in a silent majority that remained aligned with traditional American ideals. No major policy decisions were reached during this brief administrative exchange.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 168.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 131.3 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:16:17 into the tape and ends around 02:16:45.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
2:15:51Much worse than this incest is.
2:15:52And that's what this town suffers from.
2:15:54That's what this country suffers from.
2:15:55And elections, they don't want them to have.
2:15:58The other point that I make is that this, however, does not need to happen.
2:16:03Because there is still a majority in this country.
2:16:07It isn't a big majority.
2:16:09But there is still a majority of people that understand the issue.
2:16:15I think we'll become both Republicans and Democrats who will reject that kind of inward turning, who will reject this kind of permissiveness, this kind of softness, this kind of repudiation of all the basic ideals.
2:16:30I don't think it's a small majority.
2:16:33You don't?
2:16:34I say that because I know it.
2:16:37For 22 years, John Lane is always the leading boss of this majority.
2:16:42I don't think it's that small a majority.
2:16:44It's a divisive majority, and in many instances, it's not very aware.
2:16:48The thing is, whatever that majority is, though, that majority, not in its worst moments, but first, that majority is rent-a-decent.

NARA Description

On January 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:12 am and 11:13 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 658-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 658-6

Date: January 27, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:12 am and 11:13 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     The President’s schedule
          -Forthcoming meeting with Secretary [Maurice H. Stans]

Bull left at an unknown time before 11:13 am.

Also recorded on January 27, 1972

  • 658-005 10:27 AM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Richard M. Scammon, Charles W. Colson, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:27 am to 11:12 am.
  • 658-007 11:13 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Maurice H. Stans, Ronald L. Ziegler, Peter G. Peterson, Peter M. Flanigan, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:13 am to 11:24 am.
  • 658-035 11:24 AM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:30 am.
  • 019-131 11:30 AM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:30 am.
  • 658-008 11:30 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:30 am.
  • 658-009 11:30 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, John B. Connally, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:30 am to 11:45 am.
  • 019-132 11:32 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:32 am to 11:41 am.
  • 658-010 11:47 AM · 1 hr 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Charles W. Colson, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:47 am to 1:03 pm.

All 57 conversations from January 27, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 658-006, January 27, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/658-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).