{"conversationCode":"036-053","tapeNumber":36,"conversationNumber":53,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-036-053","startDateTime":"1973-01-22T23:19:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1973-01-22T23:22:00.000Z","startDate":"22-Jan-1973","startTime":"6:19 PM","endDate":"22-Jan-1973","endTime":"6:22 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.;","description":"On January 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 6:19 pm to 6:22 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-053 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"WHT","recordingDevice":"White House Telephone","latitudeEstimated":38.89767,"longitudeEstimated":-77.03655,"chronCode":"5.3","chronRelease":"Fifth Chronological Release: Part III","chronReleaseDate":"23-Jun-2009","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 36-53\n\f                                             -36-\n\n                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM\n\n                                                              Conversation No. 36-53 (cont’d)\n\nDate: January 22, 1973\nTime: 6:19 pm - 6:22 pm\nLocation: White House Telephone\n\nThe President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.\n\n[See also Conversation No. 400-14E]\n\n       Lyndon B. Johnson’s death\n\n       Vietnam settlement announcement\n            -Timing\n            -Raymond K. Price, Jr.\n            -National Security Council [NSC] draft\n            -Haig’s forthcoming meeting with Price\n\n       Johnson’s death\n            -The President’s call to Claudia A. (“Lady Bird”) Johnson\n\n       Vietnam settlement\n            -Henry A. Kissinger\n            -Timing of announcement\n                  -South Vietnam\n                  -The President’s view\n                  -Possible delay\n                         -Johnson’s death\n            -Location of announcement\n                  -Capitol\n                  -White House\n            -Haig’s schedule\n                  -Price","filename":["036-053.mp3"],"tapeStart":"","tapeEnd":"","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Haig, Alexander M., Jr."],"prevCode":"036-052","nextCode":"036-054","transcript":[{"start":2.46,"end":3.48,"text":"General Haig on the line?"},{"start":3.5,"end":7.05,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":7.25,"end":7.77,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":9.52,"end":10.38,"text":"Johnson died."},{"start":11.54,"end":14.21,"text":"Now, the point, I have two points."},{"start":14.37,"end":17.56,"text":"One, I wondered what your situation was tonight."},{"start":18.98,"end":20.08,"text":"I'm available, sir."},{"start":20.62,"end":29.07,"text":"Ray Price now has, we've taken the NSC draft and he's put it into understanding, translated it into English."},{"start":29.55,"end":29.77,"text":"Yes, sir."},{"start":29.87,"end":32.5,"text":"So, at least, you know, our kind of English."},{"start":33.48,"end":39.69,"text":"And I was wondering if it's around 8 o'clock."},{"start":40.28,"end":44.65,"text":"you could come over and meet with Ray, and I'll be back over here then."},{"start":44.75,"end":48.89,"text":"I've got to go over to the house now and make a call or two to Ms. Johnson."},{"start":49.37,"end":55.46,"text":"The news of his being dead is not out yet because she wants to put it out, see?"},{"start":55.7,"end":56.69,"text":"I see."},{"start":56.71,"end":57.57,"text":"A few minutes ago."},{"start":57.95,"end":59.49,"text":"Right."},{"start":59.51,"end":65.66,"text":"The second point is that we wanted..."},{"start":66.48,"end":83.01,"text":"if Henry wanted a delicate, I mean, a skill, if he really, if you really think he ought to have our standpoint and the South Vietnamese standpoint the extra day, he could easily tell the North Vietnamese, you know, that, you know what I mean?"},{"start":83.05,"end":83.85,"text":"Right, exactly."},{"start":83.87,"end":84.41,"text":"You see my point?"},{"start":84.49,"end":85.57,"text":"Yes, yes."},{"start":86.89,"end":90.22,"text":"So, but he's got to use his judgment on this."},{"start":90.34,"end":92,"text":"The point is to announce this"},{"start":92.93,"end":96.09,"text":"to make the announcement whenever it's in the best interest of all concerned."},{"start":96.35,"end":96.94,"text":"That's right."},{"start":96.95,"end":103.99,"text":"If slipping it a day will help with the South Vietnamese, we have a perfect excuse with the North on it, see?"},{"start":104.01,"end":104.33,"text":"That's right."},{"start":104.39,"end":109.5,"text":"I do not want to make the announcement the day right after Johnson died, you know what I mean, while we're in mourning."},{"start":110.38,"end":111.16,"text":"How does that sound to you?"},{"start":111.36,"end":114.8,"text":"That sounds fine, and then Henry can make a decision based on that."},{"start":114.82,"end":116.13,"text":"He can make the decision, understand."},{"start":116.15,"end":117.91,"text":"I'm ready to go tomorrow night at 10 o'clock."},{"start":118.09,"end":118.21,"text":"Right."},{"start":118.95,"end":127.12,"text":"Incidentally, we were considering the possibility because many here strongly wanted me to go down and do it at the Congress, you know, stick it to those people."},{"start":127.14,"end":129.91,"text":"But I was leaning slightly against it anyway."},{"start":129.93,"end":133.33,"text":"But this, of course, besides that, I can't go to the Congress and have them cheering."},{"start":133.75,"end":134.15,"text":"Absolutely."},{"start":134.75,"end":137.76,"text":"So I think it's better to be done in the office anyway."},{"start":137.78,"end":138.46,"text":"How do you feel?"},{"start":138.58,"end":139.78,"text":"I feel the same way, sir."},{"start":140.46,"end":144.89,"text":"I think a simple matter of fact and let it seep in."},{"start":145.53,"end":148.61,"text":"Okay, then Ray will be available at 8 o'clock."},{"start":148.63,"end":150.62,"text":"Does that give you time to get dinner and everything?"},{"start":150.68,"end":151.4,"text":"Yes, sir."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the implications of Lyndon B. Johnson’s death on the timing of the impending Vietnam settlement announcement. Nixon expresses concerns about announcing the agreement during a national mourning period and suggests that Henry Kissinger could utilize the news of Johnson’s passing as a strategic delay to accommodate South Vietnamese concerns. Furthermore, Nixon decides against delivering the announcement from the Capitol, opting instead for a more somber address from the White House, and instructs Haig to coordinate the speech draft with Raymond Price.","topics":["Lyndon B. Johnson","Vietnam Peace Agreement","Alexander Haig","Diplomatic strategy","National mourning","White House communications"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T05:00:00.822Z"},"topicSlugs":["lyndon-b-johnson","vietnam-peace-agreement","alexander-haig","diplomatic-strategy","national-mourning","white-house-communications"],"audioDurationSec":159,"audioFiles":[{"file":"036-053.mp3","bytes":3822045,"durationSec":159.13,"bitrate":192143,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:29.788Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:42:41.772Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/036-053.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/036-053","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/36/conversation-036-053","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}