Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 24 › Conversation 024-126

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on George C. Wallace assassination attempt

Monday, May 15, 1972 · 9:29 PM–9:35 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation024-126 onTape 24 (tape position 02:30:46–02:37:22)StartMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:29 PMEndMonday, May 15, 1972 at 9:35 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 024-126 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the political and security implications of the attempted assassination of George C. Wallace, including the status of suspect Arthur H. Bremer and the intensification of candidate protection measures. They reviewed the impact of the shooting on upcoming diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, specifically addressing progress on SALT negotiations and preparations for the impending Moscow summit. Additionally, the conversation touched upon the ongoing North Vietnamese offensive and the status of U.S. bombing operations in Vietnam.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 28.2 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:30:46 into the tape and ends around 02:37:22.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On May 15, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 024-126 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 24-126

Date: May 15, 1972
Time: 9:29 pm - 9:35 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See also Conversation No. 339-15]

     Kissinger's location

     Attack on George C. Wallace
          -Kissinger’s view
          -Investigation
               -Control
                      -Ehrlichman
                      -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]
          -Arthur H. Bremer
               -Mental condition
               -Background
                      -Age
                      -Residence
                      -Writings
                      -Political leanings
               -Mental state
          -Candidate protection
               -John B. Connally
               -Edward M. Kennedy
                      -The President's orders
               -Shirley Chisholm

     Soviet Union
          -Effect of Wallace shooting
                -Kissinger’s view
          -Kissinger's meeting with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                -Spy case
                      -Release
                      -Dobrynin's reply
          -Summit
          -Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT]
                -William P. Rogers
                      -The President’s view
                -Gerard C. Smith
                      -The President’s view
                -Negotiations compromise
                      -Navy
                      -Rogers's position

Vietnam
     -Bombing
          -Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
          -Sorties
                -Number
     -North Vietnamese offensive
          -Army of the Republic of Vietnam [ARVN] counter-offensive
          -Washington Star headline
                -Hue
     -Soviets
          -Kissinger's note to Dobrynin
                -Meetings
                -Peace offers

Soviet Union
     -Dobrynin
          -Schedule

Stewart J.O. Alsop
     -Health

The President's meeting with Kissinger and Dobrynin
     -Breakfast
     -Planning

Soviet trip
     -Gifts
            -Nikolai V. Podgorny
            -Aleksei N. Kosygin
            -The President
     -Dobrynin
            -Josef V. Stalin
     -Summit
            -Success
            -Forthcoming Senate vote
                  -The President’s view
                  -Timing

Also recorded on May 16, 1972

  • 024-124 9:23 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 9:23 pm to 9:24 pm.
  • 339-013 9:23 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:23 pm to 9:24 pm.
  • 024-125 9:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman talked on the telephone from 9:25 pm to 9:27 pm.
  • 339-014 9:25 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:25 pm to 9:27 pm.
  • 339-015 9:29 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:29 pm to 9:35 pm.
  • 024-127 9:35 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:35 pm and 9:36 pm.
  • 339-016 9:35 PM · 10 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 9:35 pm and 9:36 pm.
  • 024-128 9:36 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 9:36 pm to 9:39 pm.

All 113 conversations from May 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 024-126, May 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/024-126 (accessed September 18, 2026).