Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 725 › Conversation 725-022

Nixon & Butterfield on Diplomatic relations and Mexican delegation

Tuesday, May 16, 1972 · 10:12 AM–10:23 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation725-022 onTape 725 (tape position 02:21:57–02:24:04)StartTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 10:12 AMEndTuesday, May 16, 1972 at 10:23 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 725-022 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with Alexander P. Butterfield to finalize arrangements for a forthcoming meeting with a Mexican delegation. Nixon emphasized his preference for a brief, informal encounter focused on handshakes and personal greetings rather than formal remarks. He specifically requested that the scheduling include time for the First Lady, Pat Nixon, to participate in the reception.

Audio

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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 02:21:57 into the tape and ends around 02:24:04.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:23:48I don't want to make any remarks.

2:23:50I just want to welcome you all and meet you all.

NARA Description

On May 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:12 am and 10:23 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 725-022 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 725-22

                                        (rev. Jan-02)

Date: May 16, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:12 am and 10:23 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

       President's schedule
           -Mexican delegation
                       -Handshaking
                       -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
                       -Greetings
                       -Time

       President's picture
           -Age
           -Mexican-Americans

Butterfield left.

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

024-145 9:59 AM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:59 am and 10:00 am.
024-146 10:00 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Walter R. Tkach talked on the telephone from 10:00 am to 10:05 am.
725-019 10:00 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Walter R. Tkach met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:00 am and 10:05 am.
725-020 10:05 AM · 49 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:05 am and 10:11 am.
024-148 10:11 AM · 53 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:11 am to 10:12 am.
725-021 10:11 AM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:11 am and 10:12 am.
725-023 10:12 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:12 am and 10:23 am.
725-024 10:23 AM · 32 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:23 am to 10:52 am.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 725-022, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/725-022 (accessed September 18, 2026).