Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 14 › Conversation 014-051

Nixon phone call with Stennis on Foreign aid and Vietnam War

Thursday, November 11, 1971 · 4:36 PM–4:37 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Stennis, John C.Conversation014-051 on Tape 14 (tape position 01:20:41–01:21:45)StartThursday, November 11, 1971 at 4:36 PMEndThursday, November 11, 1971 at 4:37 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 014-051 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon telephoned Senator John C. Stennis to express his gratitude for the successful passage of the Stennis amendment regarding the foreign aid program. The two discussed the strategic necessity of the legislation, with the President emphasizing that the aid is essential for maintaining U.S. foreign policy and facilitating the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam, Korea, and Cambodia. Nixon credited Stennis's hard work in the Senate for securing this legislative victory despite a difficult political environment.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.9 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Yeah.
Senator Stennis is on the line, Mr. President.
Yeah.
Hello, John.
Hello, Mr. President.
How are you?
I just want to, I'm always calling you to thank you for things, but you do so many good things.
But that was great to have your amendment passed today.
Well, that's all right, Mr. President.
You worked so hard and they were hanging.
I'll tell you, this is very important.
I mean, as you well know, John, the most important part of this aid thing is not the stuff you passed yesterday.
No.
That's stuff we can get along without.
That's right.
I mean, of course we want it.
But boy, this is essential if you're going to be able to maintain any kind of
foreign policy.
Well, there's no way to get out of there unless you do this.
And Vietnam putting on that alone is... Well, the same is true of places like Korea.
If you want to reduce the number of Americans, you've got to continue.
Cambodia, you can... Sweden, there's every place.
Well, I appreciate it very much.
It's not hard.
You don't have to put up with us.
No, no.
It's fine.
You're doing great.
Thank you.
All right.
Thank you.
I certainly wish you well in every way.
And I thank you for your call.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On November 11, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and John C. Stennis talked on the telephone from 4:36 pm to 4:37 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 014-051 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 14-51

Date: November 11, 1971

Time: 4:36 pm - 4:37 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with the White House operator.

     John C. Stennis

The President talked with Stennis.

[See Conversation No. 298-32C]

     Foreign aid program
          -Senate vote on Stennis amendment
          -Military
                -Vietnam, Korea and Cambodia
          -Stennis’ work

Also recorded on November 11, 1971

  • 014-047 4:22 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 4:22 pm to 4:24 pm.
  • 014-048 4:24 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 4:29 pm.
  • 298-029 4:24 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 4:29 pm.
  • 298-030 4:24 PM · 5 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 4:24 pm and 4:29 pm.
  • 298-031 4:24 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:24 pm and 4:29 pm.
  • 014-049 4:29 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Hugh Scott, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 4:29 pm to 4:32 pm.
  • 298-032 4:29 PM · 49 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Hugh Scott, Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, Stephen B. Bull, and John C. Stennis met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:29 pm to 5:20 pm.
  • 014-050 4:32 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:32 pm and 4:36 pm.

All 91 conversations from November 11, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 014-051, November 11, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/014-051 (accessed October 12, 2026).