Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 35 › Conversation 035-034

Nixon phone call with Kennedy on Vietnam negotiations and North Vietnam

Thursday, December 28, 1972 · 3:43 PM–3:45 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsKennedy, Richard T. (Col.); Nixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation035-034 on Tape 35StartThursday, December 28, 1972 at 3:43 PMEndThursday, December 28, 1972 at 3:45 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 035-034 ↗

AI Summary

Colonel Richard T. Kennedy informed President Nixon that North Vietnamese negotiators had accepted the proposed schedule for technical meetings on January 2, 1973, and high-level talks between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho on January 8. The two discussed the necessary cessation of U.S. bombing in North Vietnam, ultimately agreeing to move the start date for the halt forward to December 29 to facilitate the diplomatic process. President Nixon directed Kennedy to ensure Kissinger called him immediately to finalize details before his departure for Camp David.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
I have Colonel Kennedy calling you, sir.
Okay.
All right.
Hello, sir.
Yeah.
We did get that message.
Yeah.
And they accept.
They did?
Yes, sir.
Good.
So it's the second and then the eighth.
Right.
And I called Henry.
Yeah.
And he's going to be calling you.
Conditions?
None that we hadn't already spoken of.
Yeah.
Oh, they...
What about the bomb halt then?
That's the problem, isn't it?
Yes, sir.
Well, we'll have to go through with that.
I mean, starting when?
Well, it'll probably, well, it'll have to be tomorrow night.
Because we'd announce tomorrow.
That's all right.
I don't, do you think one extra day makes...
It's not going to make any difference, sir.
What is today, the 28th or 29th?
It'll be tomorrow night, our time.
And basically, we would have had to have stopped
The night, well, let's see, the night of the 31st, our time.
Was when we would have stopped.
Right.
Well, we're missed two days then, don't we?
Well, what the hell.
Not really.
Because... Just actually a full day.
Well, that's good.
We wouldn't get much... Well, actually, this is really, from our standpoint...
I think a rather significant development.
What do you think?
Yes, sir, I think so.
As I mentioned this morning, you know, if they were going to accept, I must say I couldn't figure out why.
Would you tell Henry to call me soon because I'm leaving for Camp David at 4.30?
Right.
If he's going to call, he better call then because now I'll be leaving this.
Right.
He said he was going to call very shortly.
All right, fine.
All right, sir.

NARA Description

On December 28, 1972, Col. Richard T. Kennedy and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 3:43 pm to 3:45 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 035-034 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 35-34

Date: December 28, 1972
Time: Between 3:43 pm and 3:45 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Col. Richard T. Kennedy talked with the President.

[See Conversation No. 380-36]

       Vietnam negotiations
            -Message from North Vietnam
                 -Timing of meetings
                        -January 2, 1973 [Technical meetings]
                        -January 8, 1973 [Henry A. Kissinger’s meeting with Le Duc Tho]
                 -Kennedy’s call to Kissinger
                        -Kissinger’s forthcoming call to the President
                 -Conditions
                 -Bombing halt
                        -Timing
                              -December 29, 1972
                              -Announcement
                                    -December 29, 1972
                              -December 31, 1972
                 -Significance
                 -Orders for Kennedy
                        -Kissinger’s call to the President
                              -The President’s schedule
                                    -Camp David

Also recorded on December 28, 1972

  • 035-032 3:25 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:25 pm and 3:35 pm.
  • 035-033 3:35 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 3:35 pm to 3:36 pm.
  • 380-035 3:35 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:35 pm to 3:36 pm.
  • 380-036 3:43 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Col. Richard T. Kennedy met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:43 pm to 3:45 pm.
  • 380-037 3:45 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 4:00 pm.
  • 380-038 3:45 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 4:00 pm.
  • 035-035 4:00 PM · 15 min — Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 4:00 pm to 4:15 pm.
  • 380-039 4:00 PM · 7 min — Henry A. Kissinger and President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:00 pm to 4:15 pm.

All 76 conversations from December 28, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 035-034, 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/035-034 (accessed October 10, 2026).