Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 718 › Conversation 718-011

Nixon, Bull & Butterfield on Charles Colson and Astronauts

Wednesday, May 3, 1972 · 12:14 PM–12:18 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Bull, Stephen B.;  Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation718-011 onTape 718 (tape position 02:21:28–02:26:18)StartWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 12:14 PMEndWednesday, May 3, 1972 at 12:18 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 718-011 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with aides Stephen B. Bull and Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate scheduling, including an appointment with his barber and potential phone calls recommended by Charles Colson. The participants also discussed administrative details regarding office temperature and the compilation of materials for a project honoring astronauts in Hawaii. The President reviewed these materials to determine their purpose and ultimately granted approval for the initiative.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.5 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 60.1 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 02:21:28 into the tape and ends around 02:26:18.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:21:27I want to partner with you here today.
2:21:29I'd like to have a chat to see what the situation is.
2:21:33What time would you like to see me?
2:21:36Well, I can see you in a minute.
2:21:38He's very close to me.
2:21:40Could he come over at 1230?
2:21:41I don't know about that.
2:21:42If you have the weather, it might take a little bit longer.
2:21:45Well, why don't you see what his situation is?
2:21:47Maybe he isn't here.
2:21:48He isn't here today.
2:21:49He's not here on Wednesday, sir.
2:21:52Well, we have to make that decision on this.
2:21:55Well, yeah.
2:21:56See what his situation is.
2:21:58Whether 1230 today is better or 530 tonight's afternoon, I could either time.
2:22:01All right, sir.
2:24:11These phone call recommendations, of course, and we want to help them notice on the, on the, what is it, make, make your breakfast.
2:24:23We'll just send it else.
2:24:49This is a combination of the best ideas to look forward to.
2:25:06What is the purpose of it?
2:25:06My understanding is that she wanted something like this honoring the astronauts in Hawaii.
2:25:08Maybe you said that sometime?
2:25:09Yeah, that's a good idea.
2:25:09This is the best of all we have here.
2:25:10This would be a medal, of course.

NARA Description

On May 3, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 12:18 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 718-011 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 718-11

Date: May 3, 1972
Time: Unknown after 12:14-12:18 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Stephen B. Bull and Alexander P. Butterfield.

     President's schedule
          -Appointment with barber
                 -Time

Bull left at an unknown time before 12:18 pm.

     Signatures

     Telephone call recommendation from Charles W. Colson

     Notes

     Temperature in office

     Compilation of material on astronauts
         -Sanford L. Fox
         -Purpose
         -Approval

Butterfield left at 12:18 pm.

                                         (rev. Dec-01)

Also recorded on May 3, 1972

  • 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.
  • 718-012 12:18 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:18 pm and 12:35 pm.
  • 718-014 12:35 PM · 43 sec — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:35 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 023-130 12:36 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:40 pm.
  • 335-004 12:36 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:40 pm.
  • 023-131 12:40 PM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 12:40 pm to 12:41 pm.
  • 335-005 12:40 PM · 37 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 12:41 pm.
  • 023-132 12:41 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 12:41 pm.

All 63 conversations from May 3, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 718-011, 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/718-011 (accessed September 18, 2026).