Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 316 › Conversation 316-018

Nixon, Haig & Woods on Vietnam War and Presidential speeches

Tuesday, January 25, 1972 · 5:32 PM–6:32 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose Mary; Acker, Marjorie P.; White House operator; Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation316-018 on Tape 316 (tape position 02:55:04–03:00:52)StartTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 5:32 PMEndTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 6:32 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 316-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Rose Mary Woods and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. to finalize the text of an upcoming televised address regarding the Vietnam War. The participants focused on editorial revisions to the speech, specifically clarifying the administration's willingness to implement military withdrawals and prisoner releases while negotiations remained ongoing. The meeting also included brief logistical discussions concerning scheduling and administrative matters involving Wiley T. Buchanan.

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 02:55:04 into the tape and ends around 03:00:52.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
2:57:15Problem?
2:57:17Had to add something back in.
2:57:20I did too big, so I'll put it down.
2:57:24I'll show you what it was.
2:57:27The test center said the question, that you have to put it in projection.
2:57:40That's right.
2:57:46Unless you have something you want me to write on anywhere.
2:57:50And we need to take out the word company.
2:57:54I have to get your company.
2:57:58No, that isn't supposed to be here.
2:58:06Oh, I see.
2:58:06But you're going to say it more.
2:58:10OK, all right.
2:58:11It's not in the public text.
2:58:13Not in this text.
2:58:13They aren't supposed to see that.
2:58:16Well, that is public.
2:58:25I'll take those pages out for you.
2:58:30One of them will be in the menu.
2:58:44I could probably go in a meeting and have him step out and call you.
2:58:48Or have lunch with you.
2:58:51Yeah, I'd better tell you to call him.
2:59:02Would you go in that meeting and have Al, hey, step out and call Senator?
2:59:26On November 17th, just three days before, November 20th, yeah.
2:59:29Well, that's pretty much it.
2:59:52With regard to this thing he wants to put out there, when he says he was willing to begin implementing certain military aspects while negotiating the situation and the implementation of other issues, he means there, if not, is that he would be willing to begin implementing certain military aspects such as the withdrawal of our forces and the escape and the release from the war and the war.
3:00:23I had quite a question, but I didn't have any reason for not saying that.
3:00:27Willing to begin with, there is the right way in which we need to be willing to begin from any certain number of factors, such as withdrawal, enforcement, and return to prison before, while negotiations continue in the face of other issues, such as the people who are in our department, or the law enforcement, etc.
3:00:46But the point that I ask is whether or not I can say that we would be willing to begin from any certain military aspects,

NARA Description

On January 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, Marjorie P. Acker, White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:32 pm and 6:32 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 316-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 316-18

Date: January 25, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:32 pm and 6:38 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

     The President's forthcoming Vietnam speech
          -Changes
               -Henry A. Kissinger's views
               -Public text
               -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

     Haig
            -Call to the President

                -Interruption of meeting
                      -Marjorie P. Acker

[Woods talked with Acker at an unknown time between 5:32 pm and 6:31 pm.]

[Conversation No. 316-18A]

                           -Request

[End of telephone conversation]

     The President's forthcoming speech
          -Date mentioned in text

[The White House operator talked with Woods at 6:31 pm.]

[Conversation No. 316-18B]

[See Conversation No. 19-61]

[Haig talked with the President between 6:31 pm and 6:34 pm.]

[End of telephone conversation]

     The President's forthcoming speech
          -Changes

     Woods's schedule
         -Wiley T. Buchanan
         -The President’s forthcoming speech
         -Buchanan’s schedule
               -Denmark
         -Call To Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon

     Denmark
         -State funeral
               -Buchanan
               -John S. D. Eisenhower

Woods left at 6:38 pm.

Also recorded on January 25, 1972

  • 019-059 4:36 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 316-011 4:36 PM · 53 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 4:36 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 316-012 4:36 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, unknown person(s), and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 316-013 4:36 PM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:36 pm and 5:30 pm.
  • 019-060 5:30 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 5:30 pm to 5:32 pm.
  • 316-015 5:30 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:30 pm to 5:32 pm.
  • 316-016 5:32 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:32 pm and 6:32 pm.
  • 316-017 5:32 PM · 27 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 5:32 pm and 6:32 pm.

All 29 conversations from January 25, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 316-018, 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/316-018 (accessed September 26, 2026).