Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 719 › Conversation 719-018

Nixon & Butterfield on International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Thursday, May 4, 1972 · 12:51 PM–12:56 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation719-018 on Tape 719 (tape position 02:53:31–02:54:28)StartThursday, May 4, 1972 at 12:51 PMEndThursday, May 4, 1972 at 12:56 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 719-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Alexander P. Butterfield to coordinate logistics for an upcoming meeting with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The discussion focused on the distribution of official gifts, specifically money clips and ashtrays, to the attendees. Additionally, the pair reviewed Charles W. Colson's schedule to ensure the event remained on track.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 155.3 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 02:53:31 into the tape and ends around 02:54:28.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:52:16We'll meet you down there.
2:52:18In the sun.
2:52:19Yeah.
2:52:19I'm awfully white.
2:52:20You're nice and kind.
2:52:21Yeah.
2:52:21You keep the pain all the time.
2:52:33Okay.
2:52:34Bye.
2:55:39No money left.
2:55:40And I think we were given an ashtray or... What was the ashtray for?

NARA Description

On May 4, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:51 pm and 12:56 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 719-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 719-18

Date: May 4, 1972
Time: Unknown after 12:51 pm and before 12:56 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

     President's meeting with International Brotherhood of Teamsters
          -Gifts
                 -Money clips
                 -Ash trays
          -Charles W. Colson's schedule

Butterfield left at an unknown time before 12:56 pm.

Also recorded on May 4, 1972

  • 719-013 12:22 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 12:28 pm.
  • 719-014 12:22 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 12:28 pm.
  • 719-015 12:22 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander P. Butterfield, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:22 pm and 12:47 pm.
  • 719-016 12:47 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 12:47 pm and 12:49 pm.
  • 719-017 12:49 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Nellie L. Yates met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:49 pm to 12:51 pm.
  • 719-019 12:56 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Frank E. Fitzsimmons, Raymond Schoessling, Joseph Trerotola, William J. McCarthy, Welon L. Mathis, Charles W. Colson, White House photographer, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:56 pm to 1:21 pm.
  • 719-020 1:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:21 pm and 1:24 pm.
  • 719-021 1:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:21 pm and 1:24 pm.

All 48 conversations from May 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 719-018, May 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/719-018 (accessed October 23, 2026).