Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 338 › Conversation 338-021
Nixon & Rush on Vietnam War and Paris Peace Talks
Tuesday, May 9, 1972 · 11:53 AM–11:56 AM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Deputy Secretary of State Kenneth Rush discussed the administration's firm stance on ongoing Vietnam peace negotiations. Nixon praised Rush for his public defense of the administration's policies and reiterated the government's commitment to its recent peace proposal, which offered a full withdrawal of troops within four months in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of American prisoners. The conversation underscored the administration's resolve to remain on course while pressuring North Vietnam to accept the conciliatory terms.
- Vietnam War
- Paris Peace Talks
- Prisoners of War
- Foreign Policy
- Ceasefire negotiations
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 00:49:02 into the tape and ends around 00:50:59.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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
NARA Description
On May 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and [David] Kenneth Rush met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 11:56 am. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 338-021 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 338-21 Date: May 9, 1972 Time: Unknown after 11:53-11:56 am Location: Executive Office Building The White House operator talked with the President. The President talked with [David] Kenneth Rush between 11:55 and 11:56 am. [See Conversation No. 24-50]
Also recorded on May 9, 1972
- 338-018 11:42 AM · 40 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 11:42 am and 11:50 am.
- 024-048 11:50 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:50 am.
- 338-019 11:50 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 11:50 am.
- 024-049 11:53 AM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:53 am.
- 024-050 11:53 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and [David] Kenneth Rush talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:53 am and 11:56 am.
- 338-020 11:53 AM · 50 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 11:53 am.
- 024-051 11:56 AM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:56 am and 12:05 pm.
- 338-022 11:56 AM · 47 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 11:56 am and 12:05 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 338-021, 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/338-021 (accessed October 9, 2026).