Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 336 › Conversation 336-053

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Vietnam War

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 6:14 PM–6:22 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  [Unknown person(s)]Conversation336-053 onTape 336 (tape position 02:36:53–02:38:12)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 6:14 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 6:22 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 336-053 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon reviews the technical lighting requirements for his upcoming televised address on Vietnam with Mark I. Goode. The discussion centers on the strategic messaging for the speech, specifically emphasizing the protection of American lives and the necessity of mutual non-interference between the United States and the Soviet Union regarding their respective allies. The conversation ensures that the production quality supports the President's diplomatic tone as he addresses the global implications of the conflict.

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 02:36:53 into the tape and ends around 02:38:12.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

2:36:53Their sole purpose is to protect the lives of 60,000 Americans with the great foundation of the United States of America.
2:36:56We respect the Soviet Union.
2:36:58It is a great power.
2:36:59We recognize the right of the Soviet Union
2:37:14and defend its interests on their front.
2:37:16The Soviet Union, in turn, unrecognized our role and defended our own.
2:37:19No Soviet soldier is a president of Vietnam, since the founding of the American Revolution.
2:37:29We expect you to help your allies.
2:37:31You cannot expect us to do other than to help our allies.
2:37:34But let us and let all of our allies help our allies only for the purpose of their defense, not for the purpose of launching invasions against the nation.
2:37:44Otherwise, the cause of the peace of the people and so the way the state would be seriously jeopardized.
2:37:48Our two nations have made significant progress in our work here.
2:37:51Anyway, you're great.
2:37:52You're a great, great host of operations.
2:37:54Let us not slide back into dark shadows.
2:37:56You do not have to do that.

NARA Description

On May 8, 1972, 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 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-053 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 336-53

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 6:19 and 6:22 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an unknown person.

     Vietnam
          -President’s speech
                -Lighting
                     -Mark I. Goode

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 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.
  • 336-049 6:09 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:09 pm to 6:14 pm.
  • 336-050 6:14 PM · 45 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-051 6:14 PM · 24 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 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-052 6:14 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-054 6:14 PM · 13 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 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-055 6:14 PM · 44 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm.
  • 336-056 6:22 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 6:22 pm to 6:34 pm.

All 94 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 336-053, 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/336-053 (accessed September 18, 2026).