Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 339 › Conversation 339-026
Nixon with unidentified visitors in his EOB office on Military leadership
Friday, May 19, 1972 · 1:58 PM–3:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon dictates a sharp memorandum for Alexander Haig and Henry Kissinger expressing his deep dissatisfaction with military leadership, specifically naming General Creighton Abrams. He demands that underperforming officials either improve their performance or vacate their positions. The President concludes by arranging for the administrative handling and transcription of these instructions.
- Military leadership
- Creighton Abrams
- Personnel policy
- Alexander Haig
- Henry Kissinger
- White House administration
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 108.1 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 03:15:51 into the tape and ends around 03:19:19.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 19, 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 339-026 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 339-26
Date: May 19, 1972
Time: Unknown between 1:58 and 3:20 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President met with an unknown woman.
Dictation
-Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Henry A. Kissinger
Forthcoming trip
-Soviet Summit
The unknown woman left at an unknown time before 3:20 pm.Also recorded on May 19, 1972
- 024-159 1:58 PM · 5 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-021 1:58 PM · 2 min — 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-022 1:58 PM · 1 min — 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-023 1:58 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-024 1:58 PM · 1 min — 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-025 1:58 PM · 19 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-027 1:58 PM · 1 min — 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
- 339-028 1:58 PM · 19 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 1:58 pm and 3:20 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 339-026, May 19, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/339-026 (accessed October 9, 2026).