Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 158 › Conversation 158-032

Nixon phone call with Johnson on Vietnam War and Air strikes

Friday, December 29, 1972 · 7:02 PM–7:04 PM ET · Camp David Study Table · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Johnson, U. AlexisConversation158-032 on Tape 158StartFriday, December 29, 1972 at 7:02 PMEndFriday, December 29, 1972 at 7:04 PMRecording deviceCamp David Study TableSourceNixon Library record for 158-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Under Secretary of State U. Alexis Johnson discussed the security protocols for communicating the decision to halt U.S. bombing north of the 20th parallel. Johnson explained that he took the initiative to inform the relevant parties to listen to the public announcement rather than risking an insecure transmission of the sensitive news. The two men acknowledged the difficulty of the decision to pause the bombing, with Nixon reflecting that only history would judge the efficacy of his choice.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 40% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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, is it down here?
Yes, it's down here.
Oh, Alan.
Yes, I wanted to be sure that, uh, going around here a little bit, knowing about the information, you know, uh, you can't reach me by phone, but we don't want to open the line.
I got you what I've done, no?
I had no reason to steer away.
I'm sending a message tonight to the Navy Channel.
I'm sending a message tonight that you wanted to tell him about tonight.
That I was, that I called you tonight.
That I was...
Yeah, and there's a lot of radio switches on that.
I sent you the message I sent you, Mr. President.
I said that you wanted to reach me.
But we decided there was no sufficiently secure way to do so.
But I knew that the news...
I took it on myself.
I knew that the news that he would receive, he would be glad to have.
And therefore, I suggested that he listen in at 10 o'clock tomorrow to get the story.
And I see
That's really the only way I could do it.
... ... ... ... ...
I'm not saying congratulations to you.
Well, it's not like you know it's been a pretty rough decision.
It's your head, man.
It's your head, man.
I, you know, it's a real decision.
Well, the last fellow I had in this afternoon, as you know, I've been receiving a stream of him, he said, you know, this is a pretty rough day.
And I said that, you know, only history can tell.
And if it works, if it doesn't work, then all of you then, you know, you can come up to that.
There's a lot of ways to see if there's a chance.
Right.
Good.
Good.
Fine, Alex.
Fine.
Bye.

NARA Description

On December 29, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and U. Alexis Johnson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 7:02 pm to 7:04 pm. The Camp David Study Table taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 158-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 158-32

Date: December 29, 1972
Time: 7:02 pm - 7:04 pm
Location: Camp David Study Table

The President talked with U. Alexis Johnson.

[See Conversation No. 237-40]

       Vietnam War
            -Cessation of US bombing north of 20th Parallel
                 -William P. Rogers
                        -Message
                             -Security
                                   -US Navy channels
                             -Notification
                        -The President’s conversation with Gerald L. Warren
                        -Message from the President
                             -Security
                             -Johnson’s initiative
                             -Announcement
                             -Security
                                            -40-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                              Conversation No. 158-32 (cont’d)

                                     -Leaks
                                          -US Navy facility
                              -Johnson’s initiative
            -Congressional relations
                 -J. William Fulbright
            -Johnson’s congratulations
            -US bombing of North Vietnam
                 -The President’s decision
                        -The President’s May 8, 1972 decision
                        -Breakdown in negotiations
                 -Johnson’s meeting with Netherlands representative
                        -US-Netherlands relations
                        -Historical perspective
            -Cessation of US bombing north of 20th Paralle
                 -Johnson’s congratulations

Also recorded on December 30, 1972

  • 237-040 7:02 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and U. Alexis Johnson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 7:02 pm to 7:04 pm.
  • 158-033 7:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and [David] Kenneth Rush talked on the telephone at Camp David from 7:10 pm to 7:11 pm.
  • 237-041 7:10 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and [David] Kenneth Rush met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 7:10 pm to 7:11 pm.
  • 158-034 9:41 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:41 am and 9:53 am.
  • 237-042 9:41 AM · 28 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 9:41 am and 9:53 am.
  • 158-035 9:53 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at Camp David from 9:53 am to 10:02 am.
  • 237-044 9:53 AM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 9:53 am to 10:02 am.
  • 158-036 10:02 AM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 10:02 am and 10:04 am.

All 64 conversations from December 30, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 158-032, December 30, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/158-032 (accessed October 11, 2026).