Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 32 › Conversation 032-027

Nixon phone call with Haig on Vietnam War and Henry Kissinger

Tuesday, October 24, 1972 · 7:31 PM–7:33 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation032-027 on Tape 32StartTuesday, October 24, 1972 at 7:31 PMEndTuesday, October 24, 1972 at 7:33 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 032-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon directs Alexander Haig to prevent Henry Kissinger from traveling to Hanoi, fearing that such a trip before the 1972 election would be politically devastating and project a sign of weakness. Nixon mandates a hardline stance in Vietnam peace negotiations, explicitly rejecting a coalition government and instructing Clark MacGregor to publicize this firm position. The President expresses his firm resolve to block the Hanoi visit, emphasizing that any further diplomatic activity must occur only after the election.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, sir.
I've been thinking about this proposition, and the more I think about it is that you and I have got to work on this together.
We've got to
Henry off the Hanoi thing.
If they want to break, they can break, but we cannot have him go to Hanoi.
That's my view.
That will have a devastating effect, not only in South Vietnamese, but a devastating effect here at home.
I think so.
And we'll just say, all right, I'm sorry, he can't go.
We'll go right after election.
He can't go now.
If it's a winner and we've got an agreement, it's fine.
No, but we're not going to go to Hanoi hat in hand.
The second point is, would you call McGregor and tell him to take a very hard line
I noticed that the Star had something that I ordered.
It turned down to the bombing and the rest, which I didn't like.
But, you know, it was inevitable it came up.
But he's picked a hard line with regard to, I already told him, no coalition government.
And the only reason we're doing this is because negotiations are in progress.
But you see what I mean is right now, take a tough lie, not a soft lie.
Absolutely.
Why don't you do that?
Absolutely.
But when Henry gets back, and we'll talk in the morning, in the coolness of the morning, but there's no Hanoi trip under any circumstances at all.
It can't be done.
Well, I think it's a great security.
He had a luncheon today with his son of a bitch, and we got a proposal.
Yeah, sure.
They say, well, if he'd go to Hanoi.
That just plays right into Henry's hands.
Now, Henry's just panting to an annoy.
He's not going to go.
And I'm going to have to tell him and break him on it because he must not go.
That could be very devastating to us at home.
That's right.
Okay.
Good.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On October 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 7:31 pm to 7:33 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 032-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 032-027

Date: October 24, 1972
Time: 7:31 pm - 7:33 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

        Vietnam
            -Settlement
                 -The President’s work with Haig
                 -Henry A. Kissinger
                      -Trip to Hanoi
                           -The President’s view
                               -Impact
                                    -Domestic front
                               -Conditions
                                    -1972 election
            -Settlement
                 -Instructions for Clark MacGregor
                      -Response to Washington Star article

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

                           -Bombing
                      -Hardline
                           -Coalition government
                  -Kissinger
                      -Trip to Hanoi
                      -Meeting with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
                      -Trip to Hanoi
                           -The President’s orders

Also recorded on October 24, 1972

  • 032-025 4:04 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:04 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 373-019 4:04 PM · 9 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 4:04 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 373-020 4:04 PM · 15 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 4:04 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 373-021 4:04 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:04 pm and 4:16 pm.
  • 373-025 4:16 PM · 1 hr 31 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John B. Connally, John N. Mitchell, Clark MacGregor, John D. Ehrlichman, Charles W. Colson, and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:16 pm to 6:30 pm.
  • 375-001 6:05 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and John B. Connally met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:05 pm and 6:30 pm.
  • 375-002 6:34 PM · 13 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 6:34 pm and 6:40 pm.
  • 032-026 7:04 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:04 pm and 7:31 pm.

All 60 conversations from October 24, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 032-027, October 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/032-027 (accessed October 9, 2026).