Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 336 › Conversation 336-032
Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Speechwriting
Monday, May 8, 1972 · 4:55 PM–4:57 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discuss the specific language and strategic implications of a pending speech regarding the Vietnam War. They debate the nuances of phrasing concerning the cessation of hostilities and the potential for a political settlement based on popular will in South Vietnam. The brief meeting concludes with the delivery of a speech draft to the President for final review.
- Vietnam War
- Speechwriting
- Foreign Policy
- Negotiations
- South Vietnam
- Cessation of hostilities
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 112.6 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 112.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 3) · 49.5 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 01:57:46 into the tape and ends around 01:59:59.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:55 pm and 4:57 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-032 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 336-32
Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Between 4:55 and 4:57 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.
[See Conversation No. 24-13]
[End of telephone conversation]
An unknown person entered at an unknown time after 4:55 pm.
Delivery of speech draft
The unknown person left at an unknown time before 4:57 pm.Also recorded on May 8, 1972
- 336-031 4:50 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:50 pm to 4:55 pm.
- 024-013 4:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone from 4:55 pm to 4:57 pm.
- 024-014 4:57 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
- 024-015 4:57 PM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
- 336-033 4:57 PM · 55 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 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
- 336-034 4:57 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
- 336-035 4:57 PM · 17 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 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
- 336-036 4:57 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:57 pm and 5:23 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 336-032, May 8, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/336-032 (accessed October 9, 2026).