Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 406 › Conversation 406-037

Nixon & Kissinger on Casual conversation and Humor

Tuesday, January 30, 1973 · 8:59 PM–9:01 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation406-037 on Tape 406StartTuesday, January 30, 1973 at 8:59 PMEndTuesday, January 30, 1973 at 9:01 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 406-037 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417186949 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger engaged in a brief, lighthearted exchange to share a laugh regarding a recent event. The conversation served as a casual follow-up to a previous discussion, focusing on the perceived humor and successful outcome of the incident. No substantive policy matters or formal decisions were addressed during this short interaction.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.3 MB

NARA Description

On January 30, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 8:59 pm to 9:01 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 406-037 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 406-37

Date: January 30, 1973
Time: 8:59 pm - 9:01 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

Henry A. Kissinger talked with the President.
                                               -25-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                              Conversation No. 406-56 (cont’d)

[See Conversation No. 36-127]

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha!
I thought it was a good laugh.
It was something else.
It was funny.
It was funny.
But it only worked.
5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Also recorded on January 30, 1973

  • 036-127 8:59 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:59 pm to 9:01 pm.
  • 036-128 9:01 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:01 pm and 9:07 pm.
  • 406-038 9:01 PM · 21 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 9:01 pm and 9:07 pm.
  • 406-039 9:01 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 9:01 pm and 9:07 pm.
  • 036-129 9:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 9:07 pm to 9:09 pm.
  • 036-130 9:10 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Coy H. Stennis talked on the telephone from 9:10 pm to 9:15 pm.
  • 406-040 9:10 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Mrs. John C. Stennis met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:10 pm to 9:15 pm.
  • 036-131 9:15 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:15 pm and 9:17 pm.

All 85 conversations from January 30, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 406-037, January 30, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417186949). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/406-037 (accessed November 1, 2026).