President Nixon utilized this session to rehearse his upcoming televised address regarding the status of the Vietnam War. This preparation focused on refining his rhetoric and delivery to effectively communicate administration policy to the American public. The brief meeting served as a final executive review before the formal announcement of his administration’s strategy in Southeast Asia.
On May 8, 1972, 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. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-055 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 336-55
(rev. Nov-01)
Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 6:19 and 6:22 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President rehearsed his “Address to the Nation on the Situation in Southeast Asia”.
[See Public Papers of the Presidents, Richard M. Nixon, 1972, pp. 583-587]No transcript is available for this conversation. The audio may not contain audible speech, or the recording may not yet have been processed.