Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 774 › Conversation 774-020

Nixon & Butterfield on Campaign management and Staff coordination

Monday, September 11, 1972 · 12:29 PM–12:36 PM ET · Oval Office ·4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Butterfield, Alexander P.;  Nixon, Richard M. (President);  Butterfield, Alexander P.Conversation774-020 onTape 774StartMonday, September 11, 1972 at 12:29 PMEndMonday, September 11, 1972 at 12:36 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 774-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Butterfield met to finalize logistical arrangements for an upcoming breakfast meeting with campaign staff and committee members. They discussed the guest list, including the exclusion of certain staff to keep the group size manageable, and evaluated the physical seating configuration of the room to ensure an effective presentation. The President specifically requested adjustments to the service style to maintain a streamlined environment for the discussion.

Audio

Download MP3 · 5.1 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

And our normal staff group, although we can cut that way down, we're just about going to have to go to something other than the square.
46 and 9.
17 cabins, 13 leaders, plus the committee people.
Well, how many?
Why don't you just come to staff and let them come in and sit around?
Cut them out of the breakfast.
Yeah, let them come in to me.
Yeah, because it isn't really a good way to make a presentation.
You're out in the squares better and have the staff.
So the group will be just really the same group it was last time.
How do you serve?
Do you give them oranges and they come in, or do you serve them?
I don't want them to have to remove their crack.
You have oranges, they want to make one and remove them and serve them.
I'll be the last thing.
And what did you just call?
They were congregating in the blue.
I just.
All right.

NARA Description

On September 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:29 pm to 12:36 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 774-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 774-20

Date: September 11, 1972
Time: 12:29 pm - 12:36 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Alexander P. Butterfield.

         [Pause]

         The President's schedule
             -Breakfast meeting, September 12, 1972
                  -Clark MacGregor
                  -H.R. ("Bob") Haldeman
                  -Thomas W. Evans, Thomas B. Evans, Anne L. Armstrong,
                   Barbara H. Franklin
                  -Table
                  -Attendance

                                         (rev. Oct-06)

                      -Numbers
                  -Charts
                  -Charles W. Colson
                  -MacGregor
                  -Food service
                  -Length

The President and Butterfield left at 12:36 pm.

Also recorded on September 11, 1972

  • 774-016 12:04 PM · 55 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:04 pm and 12:05 pm.
  • 774-017 12:05 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Joseph T. DeSilva, Willie J. Usery, Jr., Charles W. Colson, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:05 pm to 12:24 pm.
  • 774-018 12:24 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:24 pm and 12:25 pm.
  • 774-019 12:25 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Joseph N. Sanson, William F. Rhatican, Stephen B. Bull, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:25 pm to 12:29 pm.
  • 360-010 12:36 PM · 18 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.
  • 360-011 12:36 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:40 pm.
  • 774-021 12:36 PM · 1 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 12:36 pm on September 11, 1972 and 10:44 am on September 12, 1972.
  • 360-012 12:40 PM · 42 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:40 pm to 1:45 pm.

All 36 conversations from September 11, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 774-020, September 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/774-020 (accessed September 18, 2026).