{"conversationCode":"336-053","tapeNumber":336,"conversationNumber":53,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-336-053","startDateTime":"1972-05-08T22:14:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1972-05-08T22:22:00.000Z","startDate":"8-May-1972","startTime":"6:14 PM","endDate":"8-May-1972","endTime":"6:22 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"estimated","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); [Unknown person(s)];","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.","locationCode":"EOB","recordingDevice":"Old Executive Office Building","latitudeEstimated":38.897567,"longitudeEstimated":-77.039147,"chronCode":3,"chronRelease":"Third Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"28-Feb-2002","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 336-53\n\nDate: May 8, 1972\nTime: Unknown between 6:19 and 6:22 pm\nLocation: Executive Office Building\n\nThe President talked with an unknown person.\n\n     Vietnam\n          -President’s speech\n                -Lighting\n                     -Mark I. Goode","filename":["336a.mp3","336b.mp3","336c.mp3"],"tapeStart":"02:36:53","tapeEnd":"02:38:12","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","[Unknown person(s)]"],"prevCode":"336-052","nextCode":"336-054","tapeTranscriptFile":"336a.mp3,336b.mp3,336c.mp3","transcript":[{"start":9413,"end":9416.66,"text":"Their sole purpose is to protect the lives of 60,000 Americans with the great foundation of the United States of America."},{"start":9416.68,"end":9418.24,"text":"We respect the Soviet Union."},{"start":9418.42,"end":9419.44,"text":"It is a great power."},{"start":9419.48,"end":9422.43,"text":"We recognize the right of the Soviet Union"},{"start":9434.05,"end":9435.67,"text":"and defend its interests on their front."},{"start":9436.43,"end":9439.79,"text":"The Soviet Union, in turn, unrecognized our role and defended our own."},{"start":9439.81,"end":9449.23,"text":"No Soviet soldier is a president of Vietnam, since the founding of the American Revolution."},{"start":9449.29,"end":9451.47,"text":"We expect you to help your allies."},{"start":9451.51,"end":9454.71,"text":"You cannot expect us to do other than to help our allies."},{"start":9454.75,"end":9463.05,"text":"But 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."},{"start":9464.17,"end":9468.73,"text":"Otherwise, the cause of the peace of the people and so the way the state would be seriously jeopardized."},{"start":9468.83,"end":9471.35,"text":"Our two nations have made significant progress in our work here."},{"start":9471.39,"end":9472.29,"text":"Anyway, you're great."},{"start":9472.39,"end":9474.46,"text":"You're a great, great host of operations."},{"start":9474.62,"end":9476.38,"text":"Let us not slide back into dark shadows."},{"start":9476.42,"end":9477.54,"text":"You do not have to do that."}],"transcriptBoundary":{"start":9413,"end":9492,"startMethod":"tape_time","endMethod":"tape_time"},"transcriptConfidence":"low","transcriptSource":"bigtape","aiSummary":{"text":"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.","topics":["Vietnam War","Presidential speech","Television production","U.S.-Soviet relations","Mark I. Goode"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T15:53:22.339Z"},"topicSlugs":["vietnam-war","presidential-speech","television-production","u-s-soviet-relations","mark-i-goode"],"audioDurationSec":79,"audioFiles":[{"file":"336a.mp3","bytes":118106903,"durationSec":7399.18,"bitrate":127697,"missing":false},{"file":"336b.mp3","bytes":117742978,"durationSec":7375.91,"bitrate":127705,"missing":false},{"file":"336c.mp3","bytes":51899404,"durationSec":3251.1,"bitrate":127709,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":true,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:41.908Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/336a.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/336b.mp3","https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/336c.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/336-053","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/336/conversation-336-053","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}