Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 318 › Conversation 318-027

Nixon & Haldeman on Vietnam War and Edmund Muskie

Wednesday, February 2, 1972 · 3:06 PM–3:17 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation318-027 on Tape 318 (tape position 02:38:11–02:41:53)StartWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 3:06 PMEndWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 3:17 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 318-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictates a memorandum to H. R. Haldeman regarding the administration's political response to Senator Edmund Muskie’s criticisms of the U.S. peace plan for Vietnam. The President argues that Muskie’s opposition to the withdrawal and POW proposals is rooted in partisanship and effectively serves as aid to the enemy by mirroring North Vietnamese rejection of the peace terms. Nixon tasks Haldeman and aide Pat Buchanan with drafting points to highlight the contrast between his negotiation efforts and Muskie’s political opportunism.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 75% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
uh... uh... uh... uh...
to withdraw American forces in exchange for U.W.
rather than the war.
It, of course, is not a ceasefire, but the inquiry must be suggested at all to be able to withdraw.
There are a number of other points in this respect that we have to deal with.
The question of the United States might not be made quite free.
Husky has put partisanship ahead
He rejects a whole range of prices in the United States.
The enemy rejects it.
It's like five.
And, uh, the case comes to the enemy.
... ... ... ... ...
As you can see, he has a deadly problem with non-recognition, especially when you use the command of 8-1.
He's a dude, too.
He's an artist, too.
He's an actor, too.
He's a president, too.
Even though he had serious problems with law and policy.
He's a guy who knocked me away.
He's been following me back through the office and court.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I'm not suggesting that all those items, just that all those items above should be approved.
But basically, in the case of the law, I don't find well to explore any case.

NARA Description

On February 2, 1972, 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 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 318-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 318-27

Date: February 2, 1972
Time: Unknown between 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President dictated a memorandum to H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

[Continued from Conversation No. 318-24]

     US peace plan proposal for Vietnam
          -Edmund S. Muskie's statement
               -Cease-fire proposal of October 1970
                     -Timing
                          -Troop withdrawal and Prisoner of war [POW] proposal
                          -North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam
                          -Henry A. Kissinger
               -Partisanship
               -Rejection of the President's proposal
               -Aid to enemy
                     -Negotiations
               -Surrender compared to settlement
               -Compared to the President’s conduct as candidate in 1968
               -Majority opinion
               -Buchanan
                     -Points to be made

Also recorded on February 2, 1972

  • 020-030 3:03 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 3:03 pm to 3:06 pm.
  • 318-025 3:03 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:03 pm to 3:06 pm.
  • 020-031 3:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 318-026 3:06 PM · 9 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 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 318-028 3:06 PM · 7 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 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 318-029 3:06 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 318-030 3:06 PM · 6 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 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.
  • 318-031 3:06 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Hobart D. Lewis met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:17 pm.

All 71 conversations from February 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 318-027, February 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/318-027 (accessed October 12, 2026).