Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 240 › Conversation 240-003

Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Foreign Policy and Public Relations

Saturday, January 6, 1973 · 2:54 PM–2:59 PM ET · Camp David Hard Wire · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation240-003 on Tape 240StartSaturday, January 6, 1973 at 2:54 PMEndSaturday, January 6, 1973 at 2:59 PMRecording deviceCamp David Hard WireSourceNixon Library record for 240-003 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger conferred at Camp David to coordinate their messaging strategies regarding ongoing diplomatic or policy negotiations. Nixon emphasized his confidence in Kissinger’s previous communications and granted him full authorization to utilize and reference existing administration policy statements as needed. The brief discussion served to align their public posture and ensure consistency in their upcoming correspondence.

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 22% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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?
You finished your lunch?
Are you still there?
Oh, fine, fine.
How did it go?
Yeah.
Well, you know, you're really coming down.
So that was the thing that made it happen.
I don't think, I don't know
It may be, of course, that he's referring to us.
My thing about it is sometimes I wonder if our public statements might be misinterpreted.
I don't know if they're up to the problem yet.
One thing I wanted to tell you before we get into it.
Needless to say, in the course of the week, we do say that you have a great justice community message to be heard.
And I think you feel free to use one.
You know, you know the various things you've covered.
And it's all there.
You know, you can pull out anything you want.
Okay.
Or ask for one.
Okay.
Goodbye.

NARA Description

On January 6, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 2:54 pm to 2:59 pm. The Camp David Hard Wire taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 240-003 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 240-3

Date: January 6, 1973
Time: 2:54 pm - 2:59 pm
Location: Camp David Hard Wire

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

[See Conversation No. 160-13]
                                             -3-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on January 6, 1973

  • 160-012 2:50 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:50 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 240-002 2:50 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:50 pm and 2:54 pm.
  • 160-013 2:54 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at Camp David from 2:54 pm to 2:59 pm.
  • 160-014 2:59 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator talked on the telephone at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:39 pm.
  • 240-004 2:59 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:39 pm.
  • 240-005 2:59 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Camp David operator met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David at an unknown time between 2:59 pm and 3:39 pm.
  • 160-015 3:39 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at Camp David from 3:39 pm to 3:44 pm.
  • 240-006 3:39 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Aspen Lodge study at Camp David from 3:39 pm to 3:44 pm.

All 37 conversations from January 6, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 240-003, January 6, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/240-003 (accessed October 11, 2026).