Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-019

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Vietnam War and Bombing halt

Wednesday, December 27, 1972 · 8:39 PM–8:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation035-019 on Tape 35StartWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 8:39 PMEndWednesday, December 27, 1972 at 8:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-019 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the status of ongoing peace negotiations with North Vietnam and the strategic impact of the current U.S. bombing campaign. Kissinger reported on a recent message sent to Hanoi, offering a 36-hour window for a bombing halt conditional upon North Vietnamese confirmation of specific meeting dates. Both men expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the military pressure being applied and agreed to remain firm in their negotiating stance regardless of media criticism or domestic public opinion.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
Dr. Kissinger, sir.
Hello, Mr. President.
Check to see how the weather is out there.
Oh, the weather is perfect.
Good.
I hope you got a little sun.
I sat near the pool all day.
I hope you aren't worrying about anything.
No, I've got good communications here, so I get some messages.
Well, that's bad to have the communications.
But it really is.
It's very relaxing.
So I am having a good rest.
We had another message from the North Vietnamese today.
Yeah.
You may have heard from Ken.
No, no, I haven't talked to him.
Well, the message... Because I've been at the Truman funeral today.
Oh, I see.
Well, they canceled the technical meeting today.
Right, right.
But they reaffirmed their offer of meeting on the AIDS.
Right.
And...
This is all private, nothing public.
everything is private on this nothing public because if they go public we go public nothing public okay and they also reaffirmed that the technical meetings will resume as soon as we stop bombing now i sent them a message yesterday after our talk in which i just said if they confirm all these things with specific dates
Then we'll stop the bombing within 36 hours.
Right.
And that may give us an announcement as early as Saturday.
Yeah, that's good.
Because I told you if we could, it's not imperative, but if we could get it before the 1st, it would be good.
Well, I think it's certain by Sunday, and there's a 50-50 chance of Saturday.
Well, we hope so.
And if it doesn't...
Oh, the hell with them.
But any event, if it doesn't come for them, that's fine.
The main thing is if we could get it by Sunday even, so that it hits New Year's Day and all that sort of thing, that would be good.
Because I'd rather not have the New Year's bombing halt just as a bombing halt.
Do you see my point?
Well, there's almost no chance that we won't hear by Saturday.
All they'd have to do is, if we get the message by Saturday morning, then we'll
we'll announce it on sunday morning right and but i think we'll get the message on friday in which case if you wanted to we could announce it on on saturday that's all right too and make the sunday because we uh we gave him a hell of a good bang you know and i'm glad we only lost two two b52s that wasn't too bad that's right yeah yesterday yeah right
today.
Well, I know.
That's what we expect, don't we?
That's right.
We're hitting about the average.
That's about right.
That's right.
Two out of sixty today.
Two out of sixty, yes.
Well, that's less than five percent.
Right.
A little more than three percent.
But on the other hand, we're punishing the hell out of them, aren't we?
Oh, there's no question about it.
Absolutely no question.
We had a fresh
saying I've just lived through the most terrifying hour of my life.
An unbelievable raid has just taken place.
And, oh no, there's no question about that.
Well, we'll shake them all up.
And if we can hold those losses down to two to three a day, that's about all we can hope.
And I think that we'll, by this weekend, we'll be over the worst of it.
Well, we hope so.
But we should hear from them by Sunday, I think, huh?
No question about it.
I think we can, unless something new happens.
The message is written to give them the greatest possible incentive to answer fast because they can control when the bombing stops.
We no longer say we stop on Sunday.
We say we stop within 36 hours of getting their reply.
good so we could stop saturday already right and frankly one day's farming doesn't make any difference no no if we do it we get oh look if we stop on saturday that gets the advantage just another advantage of having it out of the news and we've done our damage to them we've got our message across henry that's the important thing we've got our message across mr president and we've gotten it across before all hell broke loose here
And we've phased down the people again, and you have shown that you are not to be trifled with.
I wouldn't worry about the people here.
I mean, they're bitching around in the news magazine.
Don't worry about it, Henry.
It's not all that important.
The public isn't that much concerned about all this.
No, Mr. President.
Do you think so?
I am certain you will go down in history as having...
Forget the history, but I mean, you haven't run into a hell of a lot of flack out there, have you?
People worrying about you bombing?
Well, I don't see many people out there.
I know.
I'm going to stay out of the social columns of this trip.
Well, the point is, don't let them needle you.
That's the point.
Oh, I don't...
Right now, the thing is that we're doing the right thing.
We just stick right to our guns and...
If we get this, if we can get a response from them, well, that's good.
If we don't, well, then we go option two.
We're all ready.
Exactly.
Actually, it doesn't really make any difference because the news magazines close on Friday.
I just forgot about that.
Well, we don't give a goddamn about them anyway.
Exactly.
Because if something happens before they close, then they're terribly embarrassed.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Okay.
Right.
Well, enjoy yourself.
Bye.
Thank you.
Bye.

NARA Description

On December 27, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 8:39 pm to 8:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-19

Date: December 27, 1972
Time: 8:39 pm - 8:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

       Kissinger vacation
             -California
                   -Weather
                         -Swimming pool
                   -Kissinger's communications

       US bombing of North Vietnam
            -Message from North Vietnam
                  -Col. Richard T. Kennedy
                  -The President’s schedule
                        -Harry S. Truman’s death
                              -The President’s paying of respects
                  -Negotiations
                        -Timing of meetings
                              -Technical meetings
                                    -Cancellation
                              -[Kissinger’s meeting with Le Duc Tho], January 8, 1973
                        -Publicity
                        -Technical meetings
                              -Bombing halt
            -Kissinger’s message to North Vietnam, December 26, 1972
                  -Negotiations
                        -Conditions
                              -Bombing halt
                                    -Timing
                                          -Thirty-six hours
                  -Bombing halt
                        -Timing
                              -Announcement
                                    -December 30, 1972
                                          -January 1, 1973
                                          -December 31, 1972
                                              -25-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                                Conversation No. 35-19 (cont’d)

                                          -News magazines
                                          -December 31, 1972
                                               -New Year’s Day
                                          -Reply by North Vietnam
             -US military losses
                   -B-52s
             -Effect on North Vietnam
                   -Kissinger’s view
                   -French foreign minister to US
                         -French Consul General to Hanoi
                               -Report
                                      -Description of US raids on North
             -Reply by North Vietnam
                   -Timing
                         -December 31, 1972
                         -Kissinger’s message to North Vietnam
                               -Incentive
                                      -Bombing halt
             -Effect on the North Vietnamese
             -The President's reputation
             -US public reaction
                   -The President’s view
                   -Kissinger’s view
                   -Kissinger’s social contacts
                         -Press
             -Reply by North Vietnam
             -Future military options
                   -News magazines
                         -Coverage of war

Also recorded on December 28, 1972

  • 035-013 7:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:41 pm to 7:43 pm.
  • 035-014 7:43 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:43 pm and 7:52 pm.
  • 035-015 7:52 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 7:52 pm to 7:53 pm.
  • 035-016 7:53 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:53 pm and 8:14 pm.
  • 035-017 8:14 PM · 20 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 8:14 pm to 8:33 pm.
  • 035-018 8:33 PM · 26 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:33 pm and 8:39 pm.
  • 035-020 8:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:45 pm and 8:49 pm.
  • 035-021 8:49 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 8:49 pm to 8:52 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-019, December 28, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/035-019 (accessed October 11, 2026).