Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 190 › Conversation 190-016

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Vietnam War and Propaganda

Wednesday, May 17, 1972 · 7:50 AM–7:59 AM ET · Camp David Hard Wire

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation190-016 onTape 190 (tape position 00:59:20–01:00:17)StartWednesday, May 17, 1972 at 7:50 AMEndWednesday, May 17, 1972 at 7:59 AMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 190-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Henry Kissinger to dictate a formal memorandum regarding the management of U.S. propaganda efforts concerning the Vietnam War. The discussion focused on coordinating the messaging between the White House and the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) to ensure a unified public stance. Nixon explicitly outlined his preferred strategic direction for these communications to maintain consistency in official statements.

Audio

Download MP3 · 106.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 00:59:20 into the tape and ends around 01:00:17.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On May 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 190-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 190-16

Date: May 18, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:50 and 7:59 am
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

                                          (rev. Oct-06)

The President dictated a memorandum to Henry A. Kissinger.

       Vietnam
             -US propaganda
                     -The President’s view
             -White House statements
             -Military Assistance Command, Vietnam [MACV] statements

Also recorded on May 17, 1972

131-021 7:46 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:46 am.
190-013 7:46 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:46 am.
131-022 7:50 AM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at 7:50 am.
190-014 7:50 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at 7:50 am.
190-015 7:50 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:50 am and 7:59 am.
190-017 7:59 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 7:59 am and 8:05 am.
190-018 8:05 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.
190-019 8:05 AM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 8:05 am and 8:44 am.

All 63 conversations from May 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 190-016, May 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/190-016 (accessed September 18, 2026).