Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 17 › Conversation 017-013

Nixon phone call with Rockefeller on Henry Kissinger and India-Pakistan War

Friday, December 24, 1971 · 2:06 PM–2:12 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Rockefeller, Nelson A.Conversation017-013 on Tape 17 (tape position 00:18:02–00:23:10)StartFriday, December 24, 1971 at 2:06 PMEndFriday, December 24, 1971 at 2:12 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 017-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon calls Nelson A. Rockefeller to exchange Christmas greetings and discuss domestic and foreign policy priorities. Nixon requests that Rockefeller contact a discouraged Henry Kissinger to offer support regarding the administration's handling of the India-Pakistan War. Additionally, they discuss the status of federal revenue sharing legislation, with Nixon encouraging Rockefeller to anticipate its passage when planning the New York state budget.

Audio

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Hello.
Having a thing on my mind except to wish Happy and you on behalf of Pat and me a very Merry Christmas.
Are you home or I hope?
Not Albany.
Aha.
And we've just finished, and Nelson cooked the hamburgers.
Great.
We've had the most wonderful time, just the four of us here together.
Isn't that great?
Happy sends her love, and the boys do too.
Yeah, he cooked the hamburgers.
Nelson cooked the hamburgers, and he just, this little Nelson.
Yeah, I know, I know.
He said he wished you a Merry Christmas.
He just said it.
Yeah, yeah.
Let me get, let me, oh, before I get him on the phone, though, let me say one word.
You do something.
Henry's a bit depressed because of the, and he shouldn't be because we're doing very well in foreign policy, actually, but he's depressed because he's taken a few belts about the India-Pakistan thing, which had to come out the way it did.
I think that you, if you would, because he has, you know, such confidence, just sort of give him a ring and say, you know, Henry, wish him a Merry Christmas and say no.
Tell them to pay no attention to this nitpicking by people about how we handled it, if you feel this way.
And say that, because as you know, Nelson, we do have the little boys at State sort of gloating over anything they think doesn't come out well.
Well, hell, India, Pakistan, there's no way it's ever going to come out.
And thank God we didn't get involved in the war.
Right, and then thank God they didn't take over.
And thank God we saved West Pakistan, which we did.
So if you would do that, I think it would be good for the cause.
He'll be in New York about three or four hours from now.
He will.
He's coming up to the city.
Or, well, just call the White House operator.
I'll call the White House and see if I can get him right now.
It would be helpful.
Well, you're so nice to do this, and I just think that as far as
The people are concerned in New York State you've never been in a stronger position.
Well, we...
It really looks good.
We hope so.
We're having our troubles, as you know, interestingly enough now with the far right, but...
We have some tough things ahead.
We've got to ride out Vietnam, and we will, and we've got to get the China and Soviet thing across, and we will.
But in the meantime, and keep the economy going.
Oh, incidentally, on the plus side, for your immediate purposes, as I told you before, we are going to get revenue sharing, you know, now.
I mean, when I say a cent, Wilbur told me that he's going to,
get his bill through, it's going to be the first thing.
And unless the Senate just totally screws it up, you're going to get it.
So that'll be a help.
I put this in my budget, $400 million for next year.
Okay.
I'm trying to balance this budget when we have a special session on Monday.
All right.
Well, you can, if anybody from the press asks you, you're welcome to say that the president...
based on his conversations with Wilbur Mills and other leaders, believes that we are, he confidently predicts we will have revenue sharing.
Are you going to put it in your budget for next year?
Revenue sharing?
can't I just don't know right now what whether we have decided to put it in or have a contingency or whatever it is but whatever but either because you see it's moving so fast we have to make your budget yeah we don't we still got a couple weeks left but in any event we'll have the money don't worry about that so that I so that if they say well you're going to have the money in your budget I'm going to say that
provisions are made for it.
You say provisions are made for it.
Well, the main thing is we're going to ask for it in any event, and we're going to put the full weight of the administration behind the effort to get it passed by the Congress next year.
Well, that's the most thoughtful thing.
Well, anyway, have a good Christmas and all of the kids and all of your children.
Right.
Okay.
And thanks so much for your time.
Bye.
Call Henry.
I appreciate that.
Bye.
Thanks a lot.

NARA Description

On December 24, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller talked on the telephone from 2:06 pm to 2:12 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 017-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 17-13

Date: December 24, 1971
Time: 2:06 pm - 2:12 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Nelson A. Rockefeller.

[See Conversation No. 309-12]

     Christmas greetings
          -Margaretta (“Happy”) Rockefeller

     Rockefeller at his home
          -Camp in the woods
          -Nelson A. Rockefeller, Jr.
     Henry A. Kissinger
          -Foreign policy
          -India-Pakistan War
          -Rockefeller's possible call to Kissinger
                -Christmas greetings
                -War
                -West Pakistan
                -Kissinger to be in New York
                      -Timing

     Rockefeller's gratitude

**********************************************************************

[Previous PRMPA Personal Returnable (G) withdrawal reviewed under deed of gift 12/21/2017.
Segment cleared for release.]
[Personal Returnable]
[017-013-w002]
[Duration: 54s]

     The President’s political strength in New York
          -John Mitchell
               -John Ashbrook
          -The President’s posture
               -Appeal to voters

         -Democratic visitors to Nelson A. Rockefeller’s apartment
             -Tax bill
             -Jerry Finkelstein
                   -Wife
                   -Democrats for the President

**********************************************************************

    Vietnam

    People’s Republic of China [PRC]

    Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]

    US economy

    Revenue sharing
        -Wilbur D. Mills
        -Senate
        -Rockefeller's budget
              -Amount
        -Press
        -Federal budget
              -Revenue sharing
        -Getting it passed

    Merry Christmas greetings

    Rockefeller’s children

    Calling Kissinger

Also recorded on December 24, 1971

  • 017-011 1:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Chancellor talked on the telephone from 1:56 pm to 2:01 pm.
  • 309-010 1:56 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John W. Chancellor met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:56 pm to 2:01 pm.
  • 017-012 2:01 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:01 pm and 2:06 pm.
  • 309-011 2:01 PM · 7 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 2:01 pm and 2:06 pm.
  • 309-012 2:06 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:06 pm to 2:12 pm.
  • 017-014 2:12 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:12 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 309-013 2:12 PM · 8 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 2:12 pm and 2:16 pm.
  • 309-014 2:12 PM · 23 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 2:12 pm and 2:16 pm.

All 54 conversations from December 24, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 017-013, December 24, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/017-013 (accessed October 6, 2026).