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

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation336-046 onTape 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

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 02:26:48 into the tape and ends around 02:27:33.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 · Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.

2:27:00They needed to draw a law on our importance.
2:27:02They didn't have to negotiate, or the types of military action they had to hold.
2:27:06I know that many Americans, they were the first person to mention it.
2:27:09They believed the way they had to hold those things, they had to chase it out and remove the present barricade rules, that's the way they were drawn to it.
2:27:19They believed it was kind of hard, so they had just a choice.
2:27:24They did not sign a word on it.
2:27:25They did not.
2:27:26They did not.
2:27:27They did not.
2:27:28They did not.
2:27:30But abandoning our commitment to Vietnam here now would mean turning over to some people in South Korea to be able to come and share it with the Kurds.

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

                                         (rev. Nov-01)

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 · 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 5:55 pm and 6:09 pm.
  • 336-044 5:55 PM · 56 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 · 22 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 94 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 September 18, 2026).