Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 246 › Conversation 246-020

Nixon & Woods on Vietnam speech and Henry Kissinger

Wednesday, April 7, 1971 · 4:09 PM–4:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building ·21 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation246-020 onTape 246 (tape position 04:09:40–04:10:00)StartWednesday, April 7, 1971 at 4:09 PMEndWednesday, April 7, 1971 at 4:10 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 246-020 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, regarding the handling of his forthcoming speech on Vietnam. He directed Woods to temporarily hold the distribution of the press copy as he prepared for a subsequent strategy meeting with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. This brief interaction served as a logistical pause to ensure the speech materials remained controlled before final adjustments were made.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Rose, hold the press copy a moment.

I did want to talk to you for a second before, so just hold it.

I'll call you back.

It's on the last page, so I'm okay.

NARA Description

On April 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:09 pm to 4:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 246-020 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 246-020

Date: April 7, 1971
Time: 4:09 pm - 4:10 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Rose Mary Woods

     President’s forthcoming speech on Vietnam, April 7, 1971
           -Press copy
           -President’s forthcoming conversation with Henry A. Kissinger

Also recorded on April 7, 1971

246-018 3:55 PM · 12 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:09 pm.
246-019 3:55 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:09 pm.
246-021 4:10 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:30 pm.
246-022 4:10 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:30 pm.
246-023 4:10 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:30 pm.
246-024 4:10 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:30 pm.
246-025 4:10 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:10 pm and 4:30 pm.
246-026 4:30 PM · 29 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), White House operator, and John W. Dean, III met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:30 pm to 5:05 pm.

All 42 conversations from April 7, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 246-020, April 7, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/246-020 (accessed September 18, 2026).