Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 19 › Conversation 019-076

Kissinger & Scali on Vietnam War and Public relations

Tuesday, January 25, 1972 · 8:55 PM–10:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator; Kissinger, Henry A.; Scali, John A.Conversation019-076 on Tape 19StartTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 8:55 PMEndTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 10:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 019-076 ↗

AI Summary

Henry Kissinger contacted John Scali to gauge the public and media reception following President Nixon's speech regarding Vietnam. Scali offered a favorable assessment, predicting a 90% positive response despite potential minor criticism later from the press. Kissinger expressed appreciation for Scali’s assistance, emphasizing the need to maintain the positive momentum generated by the address.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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I have Scali.

Do you still want the Rogers?

Yes, right after.

There you are.

Hello, John.

I'm with the President, and we just wanted to check with you what you think the reaction is.

I think the reaction is going to be about 90% positive.

I was very pleased with the tone of the speech, and I thought the President's delivery was superb.

Excellent.

I don't think we have anything to worry about.

You don't?

No, I don't.

I think that there'll be some nitpicking on it, but much later, Henry.

I think that the reporters have so much to digest right now that they're just going to be concentrating on the positive elements of it.

Right.

And I think there are plenty of positive elements, and I think that the overall way he wrapped it up was first-rate.

And I was proud of him, and I was proud of you, too.

Well, John, you've been a terrific help, and...

Anything you can do to keep it going, of course.

And I'll be in touch with you tomorrow.

And thanks for your help this afternoon.

Bye.

NARA Description

On January 25, 1972, the White House operator, Henry A. Kissinger, and John A. Scali talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 019-076 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 19-76

Date: January 25, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Status of calls to John A. Scali and William P. Rogers

Kissinger talked with Scali.

     The President's previous speech on Vietnam
          -Reaction
          -Tone
          -Delivery
          -Reaction
                -Press
          -Scali's role

Also recorded on January 26, 1972

019-064 8:55 PM · 15 sec — Henry A. Kissinger, President Richard M. Nixon, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 9:21 pm.
019-065 8:55 PM · 8 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-066 8:55 PM · 9 sec — the White House operator and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-067 8:55 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-068 8:55 PM · 18 sec — the White House operator and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-069 8:55 PM · 3 min — Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Michael M. Marshall, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-070 8:55 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
019-071 8:55 PM · 2 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.

All 102 conversations from January 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 019-076, January 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-076 (accessed October 22, 2026).