Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 316 › Conversation 316-004
Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Speechwriting
Tuesday, January 25, 1972 · 2:25 PM–2:33 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods, Henry Kissinger, and Marjorie Acker to finalize the text and pacing of an upcoming major address on Vietnam. The participants coordinated last-minute revisions to the speech, discussed international diplomatic reactions—specifically regarding the French government—and reviewed feedback from administration officials like Robert Finch. Additionally, Nixon established communication protocols for the evening, directing staff to screen all incoming calls so he could focus exclusively on the speech preparations.
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.7 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 61.0 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 01:42:41 into the tape and ends around 01:51:05.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 January 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Henry A. Kissinger, Rose Mary Woods, and Marjorie P. Acker met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:25 pm to 2:33 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 316-004 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 316-4
Date: January 25, 1972
Time: 2:25 pm - 2:33 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with Rose Mary Woods.
The President's forthcoming Vietnam speech
-Preparation
-Changes
-Henry A. Kissinger's views
-Reading copy
[The President talked with Kissinger at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:33 pm.]
[Conversation No. 316-4A]
-Woods's delivery
-Possible mention of France
-Maurice Schumann
-Kissinger's briefing
-French Government
Kissinger
-Health
-Schedule
The President's schedule
-Meeting with Congress
-Kissinger
-Forthcoming speech
Ronald L. Ziegler's briefing
The President's forthcoming speech
-Georges J.R. Pompidou
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
The President conferred with Woods at an unknown time.
Instruction
[End of conferral]
The President's forthcoming speech
-Robert H. Finch's views
-Michael J. Mansfield
-All Indochina Peace Conference
-Nine-point program
-Indochina
-Cambodia and Laos
[End of telephone conversation]
-Change
-Length
-Marjorie P. Acker
[Woods talked with Acker at an unknown time between 2:25 pm and 2:33 pm.]
[Conversation No. 316-4B]
-Page count
[End of telephone conversation]
Laura Peterson
-Father, William H. Peterson
-Call
-Request
-Tour [?]
Woods's schedule
-Ambassador and Mrs. Robert C. Hill and Ambassador And Mrs. Wiley T. Buchanan
Ambassador Hill
-New Hampshire gubernatorial race
The President's schedule
-William J. Porter
*****************************************************************
BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
[Personal Returnable]
[Duration: 22s ]
END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 4
*****************************************************************
Woods's schedule
-Dinner arrangements
-Call to unknown person
-Viewing the President's speech
The President's schedule
-Calls for the President
-Porter
-White House operator
-Woods
-Haldeman and Charles W. Colson
Woods's schedule
Woods left at 2:33 pm.Also recorded on January 25, 1972
- 316-001 12:32 PM · 1 hr 38 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Robert H. Finch, Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, Rose Mary Woods, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:32 pm to 2:15 pm.
- 316-002 2:15 PM · 9 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 2:15 pm and 2:25 pm.
- 316-003 2:15 PM · 4 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 2:15 pm and 2:25 pm.
- 316-005 2:33 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:33 pm and 2:45 pm.
- 316-006 2:45 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:45 pm to 2:55 pm.
- 316-007 2:55 PM · 10 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 2:55 pm and 4:35 pm.
- 316-008 2:55 PM · 5 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 2:55 pm and 4:35 pm.
- 316-009 2:55 PM · 2 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 2:55 pm and 4:35 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 316-004, January 25, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/316-004 (accessed September 18, 2026).