Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 27 › Conversation 027-071

Nixon phone call with Bush on Vietnam War and Kurt Waldheim

Wednesday, July 26, 1972 · 9:15 AM–9:16 AM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Bush, George H. W.Conversation027-071 on Tape 27StartWednesday, July 26, 1972 at 9:15 AMEndWednesday, July 26, 1972 at 9:16 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 027-071 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Ambassador George H.W. Bush consulted on media strategy and diplomatic messaging regarding the Vietnam War. Nixon instructed Bush to emphasize the humanitarian toll of the conflict, specifically citing high casualty figures in South Vietnam, during his interactions with United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. The call served to align the administration's public narrative on the war's impact with the diplomatic initiatives being handled by Bush.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 57% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Hi, George.
Yeah, you've been on a lot of television, haven't you?
Yeah.
What I wanted to tell you is, on the basis of this private discussion, I'm not sure if you want to do something like this.
But when you're talking to Walt, I don't just want to find talk.
If you could, certainly, along these lines.
All right, good.
All right.
We are waiting to see if we can adopt from the heart of the devil's hands.
And we want to see how all this long war between the U.S. and the U.S. has never raised its voice with regard to the U.S. Over 100,000 divisions murdered in South Vietnam, killed by bombs, and so forth.
Over 1,300,000 executed.
If none of it doesn't do that, that's the second point.
And if you have a request that you need to come to us, we would certainly say no.
Got it?
Okay.

NARA Description

On July 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and George H. W. Bush talked on the telephone from 9:15 am to 9:16 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 027-071 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 27-71

Date: July 26, 1972
Time: 9:15 am - 9:16 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with George H.W. Bush.

[See Conversation No. 350-34A]

     Bush's schedule
         -Television

     Vietnam War
          -Conversation between Bush and Kurt Waldheim
               -South Vietnam
                    -Civilian casualties
                    -Regugees
               -The President's schedule

Also recorded on July 26, 1972

  • 027-068 8:06 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:06 am and 9:01 am.
  • 027-069 8:07 AM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:07 am and 9:15 am.
  • 027-070 9:01 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:01 am and 9:15 am.
  • 027-100 9:01 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at 9:01 am.
  • 350-033 9:01 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 9:01 am.
  • 350-034 9:02 AM · 30 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, George H. W. Bush, Lawrence M. Higby, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 9:02 am to 11:05 am.
  • 027-072 9:15 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:15 am and 11:39 am.
  • 027-073 9:15 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:15 am and 11:39 am.

All 81 conversations from July 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 027-071, July 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/027-071 (accessed October 1, 2026).