Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 385 › Conversation 385-016

Nixon & Haig on Negotiation strategy and Decision making

Monday, December 11, 1972 · 5:37 PM–5:42 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 4 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation385-016 on Tape 385StartMonday, December 11, 1972 at 5:37 PMEndMonday, December 11, 1972 at 5:42 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 385-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the frustration and difficulties associated with ongoing administrative negotiations and message management. Nixon expresses a desire to move away from the current, tortuous process of dealing with outside parties who are failing to conform to established frameworks. The President indicates he will take a short recess to regroup and prepare for a more decisive approach to these challenges.

Administration
Negotiation strategy
White House operations
Decision making
Message control

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 11, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 5:37 pm to 5:42 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 385-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 385-16

Date: December 11, 1972
Time: 5:37 pm - 5:42 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

[See Conversation No. 34-47]
                                            -20-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 59% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

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Yeah.

It seems to me that I just don't know what to do with it.

I feel like I have a lot more confidence in what I'm going to do.

I'm going to be here.

The second point is, if we were to go back, I'm sure that some of the, a lot of our message chains that we're going to have to look at are not necessarily what we're calling for everywhere.

Well, if you're ready for that...

that I was required to work in.

And, you know, that's just the roughest thing I've ever experienced.

And, you know, it's been a long time since I've been here.

And, you know,

What I don't want them to get is that they all enter the framework like we want them to.

They're willing to do what we want them to do.

You see, it's not there anymore.

We've got to realize what's the way to do the thing.

We're ready to let them have it, but we're not going to let them have it.

I know what happens.

There's all these tortuous, tortuous, you know, negotiations.

You've got to track down the man down in the middle of the mountain.

Well, that's the way we are.

You're being out there and being bad.

The thing I want, what I'm at at this point, is to quit that.

I'm going to stay around.

I have a couple days.

I have a recess.

It's necessary that they say that.

I'm going to recess.

I'm going to start going.

Thank you.

Also recorded on December 11, 1972

034-046 5:35 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:35 pm and 5:37 pm.
385-015 5:35 PM · 11 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 5:35 pm and 5:37 pm.
034-047 5:37 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone from 5:37 pm to 5:42 pm.
034-048 5:42 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:42 pm and 7:49 pm.
385-017 5:42 PM · 27 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm.
385-018 5:42 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm.
385-019 5:42 PM · 11 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Julie Nixon Eisenhower met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm.
385-020 5:42 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:42 pm and 7:10 pm.

All 42 conversations from December 11, 1972 →

Nixon phone call with Haldeman on Foreign Policy and William Rogers October 30, 1972 · 4 min
Nixon & Ehrlichman on White House discipline and Public relations March 24, 1972 · 1 min
Nixon & Haldeman on Political strategy and Crisis management February 2, 1972 · 2 min
Nixon & Kissinger on Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Strategy December 18, 1972 · 1 min
Nixon, Brandon & Atkins on US Foreign Policy and Presidency February 26, 1971 · 1 hr 9 min
Nixon & Haldeman on Weather forecast and Military forecast June 12, 1971 · 3 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 385-016, December 11, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/385-016 (accessed November 15, 2026).