Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 707 › Conversation 707-007

Nixon & Butterfield on Canada and Gift-giving

Wednesday, April 12, 1972 · 10:26 AM–10:32 AM ET · Oval Office · 12 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation707-007 on Tape 707 (tape position 00:23:40–00:35:13)StartWednesday, April 12, 1972 at 10:26 AMEndWednesday, April 12, 1972 at 10:32 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 707-007 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met to coordinate logistics and gift-giving protocols for the President's upcoming diplomatic trip to Canada. They discussed the appropriate presentation of gifts for Governor General D. Roland Michener and Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau, including questions regarding the Governor General's family. Nixon directed Butterfield on how to distinguish the gift distribution between the two Canadian officials.

Canada
Diplomatic protocol
Gift-giving
D. Roland Michener
Pierre E. Trudeau

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 00:23:40 – 00:35:13

part A, 23:18

707a.mp3

707b.mp3

NARA Description

On April 12, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:32 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 707-007 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 707-7

Date: April 12, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:26 am and 10:32 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     The President's trip to Canada
          -Rose Mary Woods
          -Meeting with D. Roland Michener and Pierre E. Trudeau
                -Gifts [?]
                      -Repair
          -Michener
                -Family
          -Gifts
                -Michener and Trudeau

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 10:32 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Rosa would like to know, you have a preference here, Governor General and Trudeau, you know, which one of these would you choose?

Well, God damn it, we're talking about the old guy, now where's the old person?

Well, the new one's being faced with another, you know, it'll be another two weeks, I think, before that's out and ready.

That's right, I'm using this one.

You have to give a different one to each one.

Neither has had one before, except a single one.

Give one to one and one to the other.

What's this?

Does the Governor General have a family?

Do you know any of them?

I don't know.

Well, give this to the Governor General.

Also recorded on April 12, 1972

707-004 8:05 AM · 2 min — Stephen B. Bull and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 10:14 am.
707-005 10:14 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hugh Scott, Gerald R. Ford, Clark MacGregor, William E. Timmons, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:14 am to 10:26 am.
707-006 10:26 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:26 am and 10:32 am.
022-116 11:22 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:22 am and 11:33 am.
707-008 11:22 AM · 33 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:22 am and 11:33 am.
707-009 11:22 AM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:22 am and 11:33 am.
022-117 11:33 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:33 am to 11:36 am.
707-010 11:33 AM · 2 hr 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, John B. Connally, John D. Ehrlichman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Beverly J. Kaye, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:33 am to 1:40 pm.

All 34 conversations from April 12, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Rogers on Canada and ICCS March 22, 1973 · 3 min
Nixon phone call with Woods on Nobusuke Kishi and Gift-giving October 22, 1971 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Woods on Republic of China and Taiwan January 6, 1973 · 1 min
Nixon & Bull on Jack R. Miller and Gift-giving March 14, 1972
Nixon phone call with Rogers on ICCS and Canada-US relations March 22, 1973 · 2 min
Nixon & Bull on Pierre E. Trudeau May 11, 1973 · 1 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 707-007, April 12, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/707-007 (accessed November 15, 2026).