Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 718 › Conversation 718-008

Nixon & Bull on Soviet Union summit and Melvin Laird

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 10:56 AM–10:59 AM ET · Oval Office · 42 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bull, Stephen B.Conversation718-008 on Tape 718 (tape position 01:06:44–01:07:23)StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:56 AMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 10:59 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 718-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Stephen B. Bull to finalize logistical details regarding his upcoming trip to the Soviet Union, specifically focusing on the departure schedule via Salzburg. During the discussion, the President expressed significant frustration with Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird's involvement in military briefings. Nixon decided to bypass Laird in future meetings to prevent perceived interference, opting instead to receive direct briefings from military personnel.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.0 MB

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

Listen to the full tape segment

Position in tape: 01:06:44 – 01:07:23

part A, 1:06:42

718a.mp3
718b.mp3

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 718-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 718-8

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:56 am and 10:59 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull.

     Soviet Union trip
          -Time of departure
               -US
               -Salzburg

Bull left at an unknown time before 10:59 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

It's getting on fire.

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

  • 718-002 10:06 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:06 am to 10:19 am.
  • 718-003 10:19 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:20 am.
  • 718-004 10:20 AM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:20 am to 10:50 am.
  • 718-005 10:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:50 am and 10:54 am.
  • 718-006 10:54 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:54 am to 10:56 am.
  • 718-007 10:56 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:56 am and 10:59 am.
  • 718-009 10:59 AM · 1 hr 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:59 am to 12:11 pm.
  • 718-010 12:14 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 12:18 pm.

All 59 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 718-008, May 3, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/718-008 (accessed November 2, 2026).