Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 332 › Conversation 332-028

Nixon alone in his EOB office on Vietnam War and Foreign Policy

Tuesday, April 25, 1972 · 10:05 AM–10:40 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 6 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Conversation332-028 on Tape 332 (tape position 02:57:14–03:03:03)StartTuesday, April 25, 1972 at 10:05 AMEndTuesday, April 25, 1972 at 10:40 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 332-028 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon dictated notes and drafted portions of a speech aimed at justifying continued American involvement in the Vietnam War amidst the North Vietnamese spring invasion. He focused on framing the conflict as a critical test for global peace, arguing that a withdrawal would embolden future communist aggression while undermining the credibility of U.S. power. The President sought to contrast his administration's generous peace offers and troop withdrawals against North Vietnam's reliance on Soviet-supplied weaponry and battlefield escalation.

Audio

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Position in tape: 02:57:14 – 03:03:03

part B, 55:05

332a.mp3
332b.mp3
332c.mp3

NARA Description

On April 25, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:05 am and 10:40 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 332-028 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 332-28

Date: April 25, 1972
Time: Unknown between 10:05 am and 10:40 am
Location: Old Executive Office Building

The President dictated notes for a speech draft.

     Vietnam

           -Stakes of war
                -People of South Vietnam
                -World peace
                      -Power of the US
           -US policy
                -US withdrawals
                -Air sorties
                -Peace offers
                      -North Vietnamese response
                            -Invasion of South Vietnam
                            -War escalation

The President replayed portions of the recording.

           -Stakes of war
                -World peace
                      -Power of the US

The President resumed dictation.

           -US policy
                -Aid to South Vietnam
           -North Vietnamese invasion
                -Aid from Soviet Union
                -Consequences of success
                      -Future invasions
                      -Risks of war elsewhere
           -Negotiations
                -US peace offers
                      -Respect for independence
           -The President's speech
                -Instructions
           -US policy
                -Determination
                -Consequences of North Vietnamese success
                      -Risks of war
                      -Conditions for peace
                            -Success of US policy
                                 -Withdrawal of US troops
                            -Resistance to aggression
                                 -Air and Naval forces
                -1972 election
                      -Peace in Vietnam

                 -Possible failure
                      -Impact on the President's successors

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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

The great question is, how will we, the American people, respond to this challenging question?
I understand the bitter frustration, the popular opposition, that this long,
difficult war caused among Americans.
Many, many, many loyal Americans.
Paced for doing nothing to stop this new communist invasion of South Vietnam.
is a compelling one.
Like this.
We've done enough, question mark.
We have the means, Kim, to defend our country without our help.
Let's get out.
The president should do is to order the evacuation of all American forces.
And the communists.
They go.
Another thing for Andrew is on the first page of the tape that I did, the first two paragraphs, you could send it over to him, so he could work against it, yes.
than the first four paragraphs down to the words, I realize that some say, okay.
What he failed to realize is that what was in his paper
is not just the future itself of the people, of the 17 million people of South Vietnam, but the future of peace in the world through the States.
That's a great nation which will always use its power to keep the peace and never to break it.
We have withdrawn 0.9% of our forces.
We have withdrawn 0.9% of our forces.
We have cut our air services in half.
We have offered the most generous peace terms in history.
The only thing that we have reduced
What we refuse to do is to accede to the enemy's demand to overthrow the government of South Vietnam and to oppose the communist government in this place.
Their answer to our efforts to bring peace has been a massive escalation of the war.
The people of South Vietnam, the future of...
Peace to the world.
And the future of the United States.
Which has a great power.
And a great nation.
Which will always use its power.
To keep the peace.
And the reverence.
What?
We went to South Vietnam in order to help the people of South Vietnam defend themselves against the foreign-supported aggression.
The North Vietnamese could not launch their invasion, their spring invasion, without massive aid from the Soviet Union and tanks, guns, and the most modern weapons.
If one country, with the assistance of a major colony, invades another and succeeds in conquering, other countries will be encouraged to do exactly the same thing and lead Europe in other international ways as well.
This would be enormously increased.
The communist win in Vietnam, the risk of war,
in other parts of the world, would be about the state of prison today.
But we will offer the most generous peace terms
We honor her both sides, the South Vietnam and North Vietnam, each respecting the other than the others.
Before you say, leave that view, we often want to share it with you, so put in an insert before that.
Black or North Vietnam or any other country, we want no territory, we seek no basis, and then we often want to share it with you.

Also recorded on April 25, 1972

  • 332-023 10:05 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:05 am and 10:40 am.
  • 332-024 10:05 AM · 38 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 10:05 am and 10:40 am.
  • 332-025 10:05 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:05 am and 10:40 am.
  • 332-026 10:05 AM · 22 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 10:05 am and 10:40 am.
  • 332-027 10:05 AM · 24 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 10:05 am and 10:40 am.
  • 332-029 10:40 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 10:40 am to 10:45 am.
  • 332-030 10:45 AM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 10:45 am and 10:50 am.
  • 332-031 10:45 AM · 12 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 10:45 am and 10:50 am.

All 56 conversations from April 25, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 332-028, April 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/332-028 (accessed November 2, 2026).