Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 258 › Conversation 258-006

Nixon & Haig on Vietnam War and William P. Rogers

Monday, June 14, 1971 · 2:45 PM–2:58 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)]; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation258-006 on Tape 258 (tape position 00:05:02–00:08:53)StartMonday, June 14, 1971 at 2:45 PMEndMonday, June 14, 1971 at 2:58 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 258-006 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and General Alexander Haig met to discuss diplomatic strategies and the handling of the war in Vietnam, specifically focusing on the roles of Secretary of State William Rogers and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. The conversation touched upon the administration's relationship with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu and the necessity of coordinated messaging from U.S. officials like Ellsworth Bunker and Vice President Spiro Agnew. They further evaluated the impact of Soviet military interests on American policy objectives and the internal management of administration communication regarding the conflict.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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What's that?
Oh, I know, I'm caught.
One thing that occurred to me is that
Uh, I think it's, uh, there's a problem that Rogers, uh, he is not as he wants to be, or, or so he can be.
He can't.
You know, it's almost as if he's fighting for the world, you know, internationally.
But, you know, it's a trick of that, too.
He's, he's, he's got stuff, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got that money, he's got a lot of money, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know, he's got, you know,
With regard to the shooting,
I think it's been run out.
I think we ought to discuss this.
I mean, my idea is that we told you there may be a difference.
There may be a difference.
But he's ahead of the picture.
In fact, my political advice would be for him not to have too much of the American people around him.
And still to go with Wagner and all.
What you might do is, if I can do it over there, just go over there, and I've got to be in a room, and I'm going to be in a room, and I'm going to draw, and I'm going to be in a room, and I'm going to be in a room, and I'm going to be in a room, and I'm going to be in a room.
He ought to consider really whether our interests are served by the Russian military.
It would be possible that we should try to turn it around on the ground here in the federal area.
That is probably what we don't know.
There's a problem right now.
They are going over there and coming out and saying nothing.
Oh.

NARA Description

On June 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 2:58 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 258-006 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 258-6

Date: June 14, 1971
Time: Unknown between 2:45 pm and 2:58 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an unknown person
     General Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

[The President talked with Haig at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 2:58 pm]

     William P. Rogers
          -Reaction to Soviet Union

     Vietnam
          -General Nguyen Van Thieu
          -Drugs
          -Henry A. Kissinger
          -Thieu
                -Need for discussions
          -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew role
          -Ellsworth F. Bunker role
          -Message to Kissinger
               -Visit to Vietnam
                     -Outcome
                     -Melvin R. Laird
                     -Rogers role

Also recorded on June 14, 1971

  • 258-002 1:45 PM · 24 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 1:45 pm and 2:41 pm.
  • 258-003 1:45 PM · 21 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 1:45 pm and 2:41 pm.
  • 005-063 2:41 PM · 57 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 2:41 pm to 2:45 pm.
  • 258-005 2:41 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:41 pm to 2:45 pm.
  • 005-064 2:45 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:45 pm and 4:33 pm.
  • 519-010 3:01 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:01 pm and 3:02 pm.
  • 519-011 3:02 PM · 1 hr 25 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, John B. Connally, George P. Shultz, Paul W. McCracken, Arthur F. Burns, Manolo Sanchez, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:02 pm to 3:29 pm.
  • 519-012 3:29 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:29 pm and 4:30 pm.

All 57 conversations from June 14, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 258-006, June 14, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/258-006 (accessed October 12, 2026).