Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 336 › Conversation 336-065

Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Vietnam

Monday, May 8, 1972 · 7:25 PM–8:04 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  [Unknown person(s)]Conversation336-065 onTape 336 (tape position 03:23:55–03:24:45)StartMonday, May 8, 1972 at 7:25 PMEndMonday, May 8, 1972 at 8:04 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 336-065 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consulted with an unknown advisor regarding the coordination of upcoming announcements and the necessity of maintaining a unified front among his administration officials. The discussion touched upon the roles of Secretary of State William P. Rogers, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, and Admiral Thomas H. Moorer in the context of ongoing Vietnam peace negotiations. Nixon emphasized the importance of Rogers' public presence while strategizing how best to manage the dissemination of policy information to the press.

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 03:23:55 into the tape and ends around 03:24:45.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

3:23:55No, but I'd be glad if you'd come in at the beginning.
3:24:00See, I'd better just talk.
3:24:01Well, the only difference is this and that.
3:24:08I'm going to have to tell them after I leave.
3:24:09The others will answer questions.
3:24:14I'll have to pay for them.
3:24:22See?
3:24:22Yeah.
3:24:25God damn it, Roger's very handsome.
3:24:28Well, Roger's very important.
3:24:31Incidentally, let me ask you, more sports.
3:24:34Oh, what?
3:24:35Well, then what is he supposed to do?
3:24:38And I've always believed, Mr. President, that if you set it off without me, you wouldn't be able to do anything.
3:24:43So if you couldn't make it,

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 7:25 pm and 8:04 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 336-065 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 336-65

Date: May 8, 1972
Time: Unknown between 7:25 and 8:04 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an unknown man.

     Vietnam
          -William P. Rogers
                -Peace offer
          -Adm. Thomas H. Moorer
          -Melvin Laird
          -Rogers

Also recorded on May 8, 1972

  • 336-057 6:34 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:34 pm and 7:14 pm.
  • 336-058 6:34 PM · 2 min — 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 6:34 pm and 7:14 pm.
  • 336-059 6:34 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:34 pm and 7:14 pm.
  • 336-060 6:34 PM · 18 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 6:34 pm and 7:14 pm.
  • 336-064 7:14 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 7:14 pm to 7:25 pm.
  • 336-066 7:25 PM · 23 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:25 pm and 8:04 pm.
  • 336-067 7:25 PM · 23 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 7:25 pm and 8:04 pm.
  • 336-068 7:25 PM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 7:25 pm and 8:04 pm.

All 94 conversations from May 8, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 336-065, 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/336-065 (accessed September 18, 2026).