Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 720 › Conversation 720-016

Nixon with unidentified visitors in the Oval Office on Media relations

Friday, May 5, 1972 · 12:41 PM–12:43 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]Conversation720-016 onTape 720 (tape position 02:27:31–02:28:03)StartFriday, May 5, 1972 at 12:41 PMEndFriday, May 5, 1972 at 12:43 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 720-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon held a brief meeting with an unidentified individual to discuss scheduling arrangements for lunch and the ongoing sequence of official appointments. The discussion included a passing remark regarding the challenges associated with public programming and the sensitivity of media questioning. No major policy decisions were reached during this short interaction.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.2 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 145.3 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 02:27:31 into the tape and ends around 02:28:03.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:28:00If they're going to have these programs, they should be because people who are deaf, deaf-sensitive cells don't make them ask all terribly tough questions.

NARA Description

On May 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:43 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 720-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 720-16

Date: May 5, 1972
Time: Unknown between 12:41 pm and 12:43 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with an unknown person.

     Unknown person's schedule
         -Lunch
         -Meeting with the President
              -Time

Also recorded on May 5, 1972

720-011 12:18 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 12:18 pm and 12:19 pm.
720-012 12:19 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John D. Rockefeller, III, Grace Olivarez, Dr. Christian N. Ramsey, Jr., Kenneth R. Cole, Jr., Raymond J. Waldeman, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:19 pm to 12:32 pm.
720-013 12:32 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:34 pm.
720-014 12:32 PM · 38 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:34 pm.
720-015 12:34 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:34 pm to 12:41 pm.
720-017 12:41 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:41 pm and 12:43 pm.
720-018 12:43 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:43 pm.
720-019 12:44 PM · 1 hr 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), and Marjorie P. Acker met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:44 pm and 1:59 pm.

All 54 conversations from May 5, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 720-016, May 5, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/720-016 (accessed September 18, 2026).