Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-165

Kissinger & Rogers on International Conference and Foreign Aid

Thursday, February 22, 1973 · 9:55 AM–10:06 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; Rogers, William P.Conversation043-165 on Tape 43StartThursday, February 22, 1973 at 9:55 AMEndThursday, February 22, 1973 at 10:06 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-165 ↗

AI Summary

Henry Kissinger and Secretary of State William Rogers coordinate a breakfast meeting with President Nixon to discuss the upcoming international conference, involving key diplomats William J. Porter and William H. Sullivan. Kissinger also provides a status report on his recent press conference, noting that his briefings on foreign aid were well-received. Furthermore, both men express confidence that political opposition, specifically from George McGovern, will remain ineffective as they anticipate minimal resistance to their foreign policy agenda.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hi, Henry.
Bill, the President was wondering whether you, Bill, and Bill Porter, and Sullivan, and I mightn't have breakfast with him tomorrow morning to discuss the international conference.
Yeah, good idea.
And then we have a picture taken, and it puts it in its right perspective.
That's fine.
What time?
8.30.
Okay.
I was afraid you might get enthusiastic.
It was 7.30.
8.30 in the morning?
8.30.
Bill Porter and Bill Sullivan and you and I.
Fine.
And we swore, and that gave us about 45 minutes.
How did your briefing go?
I was tied up, so I didn't hear it.
I think it went pretty well.
You know, it was easy.
I made many of the same points I had made at the briefing with a little less of the, you know, I didn't give too much of the color.
I didn't give much of the color, and I didn't make any speculation about their motives.
That sounds good.
And on aid, they hit me, and I gave about the same answer.
Mm-hmm.
I really think we're going to have less trouble with aid than people think.
That's what I think.
Because the liberals, when they're put to the torch, can't really do anything.
All they're doing now is heckling the president, trying to take some political cheap shots.
But once that phase is behind them, I think they have no place to go.
That's what I think.
I didn't.
McGovern raised it with me, and I thought that rather than challenge him, he's so goddamn low now, so much at the bottom of the heap, there's no point in building him up.
But I think when the chips are down, we can really take him on.
I think so.
Well, he's really a tawdry guy when you think of all his bleeding about the poor people there.
I know.
And all the things he was going to do to help them when the war was over.
That's right.
And that we should be known as the people to reconstruct rather than as the bombers.
That's right.
Now he has his chance, and he does nothing.
That's right.
But as I say, he really is awfully, he's at the bottom of the barrel.
Interestingly, the other senators were all sort of disgusted when they left.
Really?
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay, Bill, see you at breakfast.

NARA Description

On February 22, 1973, Henry A. Kissinger and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:55 am and 10:06 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-165 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-165

Date: February 22, 1973
Time: Unknown between 9:55 am and 10:06 am
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with William P. Rogers.

[See Conversation No. 861-19B]

       The President’s schedule
            -Rogers
            -William J. Porter
            -William H. Sullivan
            -Kissinger
            -Photograph

       Kissinger’s press conference
             -Kissinger’s view
             -US-People’s Republic of China [PRC] relations
             -Foreign aid
                                             -97-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                  -Rogers view
                  -Liberal opposition
                  -George S. McGovern

Also recorded on February 22, 1973

  • 043-162 9:50 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 9:50 am.
  • 861-001 9:50 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:50 am to 9:51 am.
  • 861-002 9:51 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:51 am and 9:55 am.
  • 861-003 9:51 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:51 am and 9:55 am.
  • 043-164 9:55 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:55 am and 10:06 am.
  • 861-004 9:55 AM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:55 am to 10:06 am.
  • 043-163 9:58 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 9:58 am to 9:59 am.
  • 861-005 10:06 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:06 am and 11:14 am.

All 52 conversations from February 22, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-165, February 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-165 (accessed October 1, 2026).