Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 717 › Conversation 717-008

Nixon & Johnson on Presidential appointments and Senate relations

Tuesday, May 2, 1972 · 11:16 AM–11:17 AM ET · Oval Office · 57 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Johnson, Lyndon B.Conversation717-008 on Tape 717 (tape position 00:20:49–00:22:55)StartTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 11:16 AMEndTuesday, May 2, 1972 at 11:17 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 717-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and former President Lyndon B. Johnson engaged in a brief discussion regarding the political risks of replacing leadership within a specific government agency during a contentious legislative period. Nixon expressed his reluctance to remove the current director, citing the need for institutional stability while facing a significant political struggle in the Senate. The conversation served as a moment of informal political alignment between the two presidents regarding the management of federal appointments.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I tried to reach you before, but you were out in some place, right?
Well, one thing about it, you know, they were accurate, and a lot of people were trying to get me to fire them, and I told them earlier this year, I said, look, I said, this is no time to change directors because we have a hell of a fight in the Senate, and a political fight, and so at least the outfit is detractors.
I hope...
Oh, I know that.
Yeah.
Bye.
Bye.

NARA Description

On May 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:16 am to 11:17 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 717-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 717-8

Date: May 2, 1972
Time: 11:16-11:17 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Lyndon B. Johnson.

[See Conversation No. 23-109]

Also recorded on May 2, 1972

  • 023-108 11:04 AM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:04 am.
  • 717-005 11:04 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at 11:04 am.
  • 717-006 11:04 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:04 am and 11:10 am.
  • 717-007 11:10 AM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:10 am to 11:11 am.
  • 023-109 11:16 AM · 56 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson talked on the telephone from 11:16 am to 11:17 am.
  • 023-110 11:17 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:27 am.
  • 717-009 11:17 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:17 am and 11:19 am.
  • 717-010 11:19 AM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, unknown person(s), and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:19 am to 11:40 am.

All 67 conversations from May 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 717-008, May 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/717-008 (accessed October 10, 2026).