Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 338 › Conversation 338-013

Nixon & Haldeman on Vietnam War and Melvin Laird

Tuesday, May 9, 1972 · 11:24 AM–11:32 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation338-013 on Tape 338 (tape position 00:38:10–00:39:20)StartTuesday, May 9, 1972 at 11:24 AMEndTuesday, May 9, 1972 at 11:32 AMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 338-013 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and H.R. Haldeman discussed managing the public relations response to ongoing military operations in Vietnam, specifically focusing on the potential for Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird to appear on television. The President directed Laird to cancel his scheduled travel to prioritize this media engagement and take responsibility for managing the release of photographic evidence related to the naval blockade. The conversation centers on coordinating the administration’s messaging strategy to ensure the military's current posture is effectively communicated to the public.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.3 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 96.0 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 00:38:10 into the tape and ends around 00:39:20.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
37:49The most important thing I forgot to mention, I talked to Laird about military operations, and I asked him how he was doing, and he said, like, he had a schedule to go on a three-day trip to Florida and New York, and I said, well, I wanted to.
38:06Well, then I told him how he was doing today, and he said, well, maybe I should cancel on time.
38:10I said, well, we'll do check and recall.
38:11See, I'm inclined to admit that we ought to put Laird on tomorrow and eat meals that we really want to do good.
38:20Okay.
38:21And I also mentioned the picture to him.
38:22He said, well, they had this report for the money, a pilot's report at this point.
38:27One time on the ship.
38:29So he said, what did you do?
38:30And I said, look, now I want you to take responsibility.
38:33I said, you know, they forgot more about this than most people.
38:37You have to come to our account and do that.
38:40And I said, so we'll do the talk later.
38:42So I reported that to you.
38:45We appreciate your advice.
38:46On the hour and time.
38:48Okay, good.
39:04They're still there, huh?
39:05Okay.
39:05Oh, no, not great, since they get back home.
39:09They haven't, well, since they get back, haven't moved from over here to here.
39:13That place is...

NARA Description

On May 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:32 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 338-013 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 338-13

Date: May 9, 1972
Time: Unknown between 11:24 and 11:32 am
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman.

     Vietnam
          -President's talk with Melvin R. Laird
                -Laird's possible television appearance
                      -Scheduling in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee
                      -Henry A. Kissinger
                      -Haldeman
                      -Forthcoming television appearance
          -Blockade
                -Photographs
                -Release
                -Public relations efforts
                      -Laird

Also recorded on May 9, 1972

  • 024-040 11:16 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Melvin R. Laird talked on the telephone from 11:16 am to 11:21 am.
  • 338-009 11:16 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Melvin R. Laird met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:16 am and 11:21 am.
  • 024-041 11:21 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:21 am and 11:23 am.
  • 338-010 11:21 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:21 am and 11:23 am.
  • 024-042 11:23 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon talked on the telephone from 11:23 am to 11:24 am.
  • 338-011 11:23 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:23 am and 11:24 am.
  • 338-012 11:24 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:24 am and 11:32 am.
  • 338-014 11:24 AM · 30 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 11:24 am and 11:32 am.

All 96 conversations from May 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 338-013, May 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/338-013 (accessed October 9, 2026).