Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 336 › Conversation 336-046

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Presidential speeches

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 5:55 PM–6:09 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 48 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation336-046 on Tape 336 (tape position 02:26:48–02:27:33)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 5:55 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 6:09 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 336-046 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the messaging and strategic implications of the President’s upcoming speech concerning the war in Vietnam. They focused on the necessity of maintaining American credibility and military commitment to avoid the consequences of an abrupt withdrawal. The conversation served as a final review of the speech text, specifically addressing the editing of press copies and the removal of certain references to ensure the administration's policy position remained firm.

Audio

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This clip was extracted from the full tape recording by Easy Nixon.

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Position in tape: 02:26:48 – 02:27:33

part B, 23:27

336a.mp3
336b.mp3
336c.mp3

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-046 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 336-46

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:55 and 6:09 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Vietnam
          -President’s speech
                -Press copy
                -Deletion

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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

I know that many Americans, they were the first ones to mention it.
They believed the way they knew the world was in the United States, they knew how to do it, they knew the credit card, they knew who it was, they knew the drawbacks.
The political stand on it was that they had just a choice.
They did not send over one-and-a-half million grand.
They did not.
They had four-and-a-half million dollars.
They did not hold the Senate office.
We would risk the lives of 60,000 Americans.
We would risk the lives of 60,000 Americans.

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 336-040 5:54 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:54 pm to 5:55 pm.
  • 336-041 5:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-042 5:55 PM · 2 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 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-043 5:55 PM · 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 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-044 5:55 PM · 59 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 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-045 5:55 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-047 5:55 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-048 5:55 PM · 25 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.

All 118 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 336-046, 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/336-046 (accessed November 2, 2026).