Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-106
Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Taiwan and Ronald Reagan
Monday, February 28, 1972 · 10:52 PM–11:00 PM ET · White House Telephone · 8 min
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the political fallout and public reception following Nixon's recent trip to China, specifically focusing on clarifying the U.S. defense commitment to Taiwan. Kissinger provides updates on support from Ronald Reagan and concerns regarding criticism from conservative commentators like William F. Buckley, Jr. They also coordinate plans for upcoming meetings with Congressional leaders and determine that a meeting with Soviet Ambassador Anatoliy Dobrynin should be postponed to avoid potential diplomatic friction with the Chinese.
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
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I tell you what I think has happened on Taiwan.
It's the goddamn Washington Post.
Their headline, if you see it, is, Nixon agrees to withdraw from Taiwan.
But Reagan says there is a little trouble out on the West Coast in some of their evening paper headlines.
But he said he never doubted for a minute.
He read the computer case.
He said, hell, that's what the president told me he'd do.
He said, it's constitutional.
This is our policy.
That's the Nixon talk.
And he said, you have to remember, he was giving me courage.
He said, you have to remember the president will be dying all week long.
Oh, he did, huh?
Yeah, and he said he had heard what she said tonight.
He said that's terrific.
Oh, he heard the speech?
Yeah.
He said he was proud of you.
He said the only other thing that he would suggest is that he planned a question for Ziegler tomorrow, saying, well, what about the defense?
And he would say, as Dr. Kirchner said in Shanghai, as the president said yesterday,
No, the Defense Commitment still stands, and that's been asked.
Is that all right?
Yes.
Okay, good.
But I think you should take it just a tiny bit easier.
It's a good statement to these guys.
To the leaders.
Oh, don't worry.
I've covered it.
I'm going to let you and Rogers say what you want.
Now, Barry Goldwater, I talked to, was a little more difficult.
He said, let's make sure you explain this properly tomorrow morning to the leaders.
And I'm having breakfast with him on Wednesday.
And I think they're going to get him.
Well, he's, of course, Buckley's working on it.
Buckley's working on it.
Actually, I have to say, in his legacy, Jim Buckley called him this morning, trying to get him out of the way.
And he said, no, I believe that the president... You think maybe Jim Buckley's lost?
I don't think so, no.
He knows, to put it more fairly...
Jim Buckley asked him what he, Reagan, thought he would say.
And he said, just say that the president, that he said, you are sure the president is not defying the defense.
We said it tonight, what the hell do you mean?
All said.
Okay.
Reagan congratulated you.
He said it was one of the greatest weeks of your time as president.
He was something.
And Nancy, who's got a hell of a lot more brains than he has, was equally as confused.
She was, huh?
Yeah.
Well, of course, Reagan can see it in terms of the political impact, can't he?
Yeah.
The television impact, huh?
That's right.
He said you had a great pilot last week, and I think he thinks you can run as he can tell you to do that.
OK. Well, good, Henry.
Fine.
So I really think the call reacted a little bit too strongly to be what it was supposed to be.
Well, there was some radio and early wires, you know.
And also, let's face it, Buckley had Spider-Man.
Well, he made a damn mistake and he died.
We really did.
Because he's been supercilious and nasty and hard to deal with.
There were a lot of colors to touch with Ezra if he hadn't been in it.
Right.
I don't know how to handle him, except to have nothing to do with him from now on.
What do you think?
Well, I may try to talk to him, but I think one less concern is no chance of taking an opponent.
Never take your enemies.
I've told Haldeman that a dozen times.
Because you only give them empirical information.
Yeah.
Buchanan was the one that pushed him.
And you know Hague is about his...
hard lines you can get.
This is one of the great diplomatic revolutions.
Now, one other interesting thing.
Last week, I didn't want to bother you there with things.
The Russian sent us a message sort of saying, you know, what's going on.
He's criticizing us.
He's criticizing us.
I sent back a message this evening saying, you know, make it fire down.
You know, we are serious about this.
We're going to take off with you.
Yeah.
And from that day on, there hasn't been any hostile artists.
And so far, it's coming, you know, in a very factual way.
Well, I think on this meeting with Sabrina, it's probably worth it if you would bring him in for a minute.
I just think it's just a good little touch.
My frank opinion is to do it after, not right this minute.
Why?
Because I'm worried that these pictures may just get it back to the Chinese that you saw Sabrina drive.
Fine, fine, fine.
But you can see.
Oh, I'll see if any of them have something.
Mm-hmm.
And then you tell him, though, because he may say, well, the President doesn't want to see you, because prior to the trip, Mr.
Ambassador, the President wants to have a good, off-the-record talk with you to get your advice.
How about that?
Something like that.
And then say, we'll say to you, and maybe we'll set it up for a little dinner, a little private dinner.
Let's do it that way.
Well, my point is,
hang that out there, and then he can report to his government.
He's going to be seeing the president to have a talk.
Okay.
Okay, boy.
Get some rest.
You ought to feel pretty good.
Right, I will.
You did it well.
Yeah, well, we...
It's funny because that's me.
You know, for Rogers, he'll...
I think you're right.
He'll be for this now that it's public.
That public reaction out there, I mean, that... We didn't stack that job that much.
Oh, hell, they were some demonstrators.
Yeah.
Oh, sure.
Thank you.
The other hand, they were with us.
Those people were cheering.
They started to clap from the plane rover, you know, before we even landed.
That cabinet, which has, which, if things were at all tough, they would certainly, they've never yet been out of ground, but things were tough.
They were in exodus.
And Elliot Richardson, who's a sophisticated guy, says this is a diplomatic masterstroke, that the Munich day was deferred.
He sees it.
Why the hell didn't Bill see it?
God damn it, I don't understand it.
Because he doesn't have that sort of a... You understand?
He doesn't have it.
And that poor damn Green was taking it on.
He's done it on everything.
He's not...
Reagan is really, but he was all right.
But would you ask him to make a statement?
I want him to make a statement.
Okay.
NARA Description
On February 28, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:52 pm to 11:00 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-106 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 20-106
Date: February 28, 1972
Time: 10:52 pm - 11:00 pm
Location: White House Telephone
The White House operator talked to the President.
Call from Henry A. Kissinger on the line
Kissinger talked with the President.
Call to Ronald W. Reagan
-Taiwan, Republic of China
-Washington Post headline
-Reagan view
-Headlines in California
-Communiqué
-The President’s talk with Reagan
-Nixon Doctrine
-Press
-The President’s recent speech
-Nature of rebuttal
-Ronald L. Ziegler question
-Defense commitment
-Kissinger’s comments in Shanghai
The President’s schedule
-Forthcoming Congressional leaders meeting
-Kissinger and William P. Rogers
-Barry M. Goldwater
-Talk with Kissinger
-Breakfast
-William F. Buckley, Jr.
Calls to Kissinger
-James L. Buckley call to Reagan
-Clarification of Taiwan statement
-Defense commitment
-Reagan
-Enthusiasm for trip
-Nancy Reagan
-Political acumen
-Television
-Taiwan statement
-Washington Post
-Media
-Play of Taiwan issue
-William Buckley
-Attitude toward administration
-Columns
-Handling
-H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
-Patrick J. Buchanan
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr. view
Messages between the US and Soviet Union
-Criticism
-World report
-Détente
-TASS
President's schedule
-Meeting with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Benefits
-Timing
-PRC
-Dobrynin’s forthcoming meeting with Kissinger
-The President’s forthcoming trip to the Soviet Union
-Possible dinner
Accomplishments of trip
-Public reaction to trip
-Rogers
-Reception at airport
-Demonstrators
-Cabinet
-Elliot L. Richardson
-Communiqué
-Rogers
-Marshall Green
-Berlin
-Reagan
-Support
-StatementAlso recorded on February 29, 1972
- 020-104 10:46 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:46 pm.
- 020-143 10:46 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:46 pm.
- 020-105 10:47 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 10:47 pm to 10:50 pm.
- 020-107 11:00 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:00 pm and 11:05 pm.
- 020-108 11:05 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 11:05 pm to 11:11 pm.
- 020-109 11:11 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone from 11:11 pm to 11:12 pm.
- 020-110 11:12 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John B. Connally talked on the telephone from 11:12 pm to 11:15 pm.
- 020-111 11:15 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:15 pm and 11:22 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 020-106, February 29, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-106 (accessed October 12, 2026).