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 6:14 pm and 6:22 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-054 of the White House Tapes.
Transcript (AI-Generated)This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.
I ask you for the same strong support that you've always been
It is you most of all who will be watching.
I know that you want to end this war.
I know how much you want to regret it.
I need you to know that all that I have said and done in this past three and a half years, I will try to do my end to war right now.
You want peace.
I want peace.
But you also want honor, not defeat.
You want a temperate peace, not a peace that is merely afraid to do what I want.
At this moment, we must stand together in purpose.
And so often in the past, we Americans did not choose to serve in the course of office.
I had a mini-division on 110, where every vote was sure we could make the race.
But what did I do?
I asked for your support in this decision, a decision which has only one purpose, not to expand the war, not to escalate the war, but to end this war and win the kind of peace that will last.
With God's help and your support, we will accomplish that critical task.