Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 273 › Conversation 273-006
Nixon, Haldeman & Kissinger on Economic Policy and Foreign Policy
Thursday, August 12, 1971 · 2:45 PM–3:10 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon met with H. R. Haldeman and Henry Kissinger to coordinate administrative logistics, including the President's upcoming travel schedule, press strategies, and the development of a domestic economic package. The conversation also touched upon sensitive foreign policy matters, specifically the complexities of U.S. relations with the People's Republic of China, ongoing concerns regarding Vietnam, and international monetary issues. The participants deliberated on the timing and public presentation of these policy initiatives to ensure effective communication and political management.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 67.9 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 00:16:22 into the tape and ends around 00:38:15.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) ·JSON data · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
NARA Description
On August 12, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 3:10 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 273-006 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 273-6
Date: August 12, 1971
Time: 2:45 pm - 3:10 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.
Arthur A. Shenfield
-Speech [ The Roots of American Discontent ]
-Rockford College
President's schedule
-Trip to San Clemente
-Work
-Budget
-Press
-Lack of news
-Lack of public appearances
-Camp David
-Ronald L. Ziegler
-Press briefings
-Photograph opportunities
-Henry A. Kissinger
-Preparations for President’s forthcoming trip to People’s Republic of
China [PRC]
-Defense budget
-Preliminary work on programs
-Activities
-Kissinger
-Public exposure
-Ceremonial activities
Paul A. Volcker
-Appointment by John B. Connally
President's schedule
-Domestic package
-Preparation
-Camp David
-Announcement of economic program
-Congress
-Haldeman's possible call to William E. Timmons
-Milk producers
Kissinger entered at 3:00 pm.
Kissinger's previous meeting with Howard Stein
-Eugene J. McCarthy
-Stock Market
-Investments
-Predictions
-US foreign policy
**********************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 7m 17s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
**********************************************************************
International monetary situation
Vietnam
-Directive
-Timing
-Stockpile
-Response
-Melvin R. Laird
-Withdrawal of US planes
-Laos
-Thailand
-A-1's
-Laos
US relations with PRC
-Accidental War Treaty
-Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Gerard C. Smith
-Possible impact on PRC
-Instructions of Philip J. Farley
-Cancellation of forthcoming meeting
-Admissions of other countries
-PRC
-USSR
-PRC
-[Forename unknown] Atkins (sp?), [Forename unknown] Elliot (sp?)
-Smith
[Unintelligible]
Haldeman and Kissinger left at 3:10 pm.Also recorded on August 12, 1971
- 562-007 1:17 PM · 34 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 1:17 pm on August 12, 1971 and 8:59 am on August 13, 1971.
- 273-001 1:20 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
- 273-002 1:20 PM · 2 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 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
- 273-003 1:20 PM · 2 min — 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 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
- 273-004 1:20 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:20 pm and 2:31 pm.
- 273-005 2:31 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:31 pm to 2:38 pm.
- 273-007 3:11 PM · 1 hr 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon, George P. Shultz, Manolo Sanchez, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:11 pm to 4:20 pm.
- 273-008 4:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:21 pm to 4:23 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 273-006, August 12, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/273-006 (accessed September 18, 2026).