Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 333 › Conversation 333-027

Nixon & Woods on Vietnam War and Presidential speechwriting

Wednesday, April 26, 1972 · 5:14 PM–5:16 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Woods, Rose MaryConversation333-027 on Tape 333 (tape position 03:32:09–03:34:57)StartWednesday, April 26, 1972 at 5:14 PMEndWednesday, April 26, 1972 at 5:16 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 333-027 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with his personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, to finalize the revisions and word count of a brief but significant speech regarding Vietnam. The discussion touched upon the delicate diplomatic landscape, specifically referencing covert private negotiations in Paris that the administration aimed to obscure from public discourse. Nixon emphasized the speech's strategic ambiguity, noting that while it addressed the implications of ongoing bombing campaigns and Soviet involvement, key diplomatic maneuvers remained intentionally omitted.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 43% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Well, I had, I cheated.
I had some on the bench.
There were a lot of changes, though.
Did you get all those?
Oh, yeah.
Where it changes?
Did the pages go?
Do you know how many pages?
About 2,000.
They're counting, but... You had 2139.
That's... Before that last... Before... Cut on that, isn't it?
It's a good speech.
It's very short.
It's brief, but it says one hell of a lot.
And of course, as you can imagine, there's an awful lot going on diplomatically we're not saying.
There's another one.
See, there's another private meeting here in Paris.
That's why we're going back to this one meeting tomorrow, really.
Yeah.
That's by implication in here, but only a smart fellow will ever see it.
We can't say it.
We'll go to cover on it.
But the private meeting in Paris is a tradition cut bait when they even talk.
They don't want to start bombing again.
Well, that's where we got our wheel.
That's where the rush by the rush came on.
That's on the second.

NARA Description

On April 26, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:14 pm to 5:16 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 333-027 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 333-27

Date: April 26, 1972
Time: 5:14 pm - 5:16 pm

Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Rose Mary Woods.

       Vietnam
            -The President's speech
                  -Changes
                  -Number of words
                        -Additions
                  -Completion
                  -Length
                  -Contents
                  -Diplomatic negotiations
            -Meetings in Paris
                  -US bombing
                        -Hanoi
            -Soviets

Woods left at 5:16 pm.

Also recorded on April 26, 1972

  • 023-087 4:34 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 4:34 pm to 4:37 pm.
  • 333-024 4:37 PM · 1 min — 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 4:37 pm and 5:01 pm.
  • 333-025 4:37 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 4:37 pm and 5:01 pm.
  • 333-026 5:01 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:01 pm to 5:10 pm.
  • 333-045 5:15 PM · 21 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 5:15 pm and 5:50 pm.
  • 333-028 5:16 PM · 15 sec — 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 5:16 pm and 5:50 pm.
  • 333-029 5:16 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:16 pm and 5:50 pm.
  • 333-030 5:50 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:50 pm to 6:06 pm.

All 57 conversations from April 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 333-027, April 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/333-027 (accessed October 9, 2026).