Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 398 › Conversation 398-003
Nixon, Kissinger & Ziegler on 1973 Inaugural Address and Vietnam War
Friday, January 19, 1973 · 4:12 PM–4:29 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 15 min
AI Summary
President Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and Ronald Ziegler met to discuss the final preparations for the 1973 Inaugural address and the critical timing surrounding the Vietnam peace settlement. They reviewed revisions to the speech, specifically focusing on the characterization of U.S. alliances and diplomatic references to Beijing and Moscow. Additionally, the participants coordinated media strategies for the Vietnam announcement, emphasizing the importance of controlling information flow to the press and ensuring that key political figures were properly briefed.
- 1973 Inaugural Address
- Vietnam War
- Peace negotiations
- Press relations
- Foreign policy
- Diplomacy
Audio
Transcript (AI-generated)
This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 7 minutes of this recording (about 51% 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
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NARA Description
On January 19, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 4:12 pm to 4:29 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 398-003 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 398-3
Date: January 19, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:12 pm and 4:29 pm
Location: Executive Office Building
The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.
[Conversation No. 398-3A]
Vietnam settlement
-Current situation
-3-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 398-3 (cont’d)
President's Inaugural speech
-Peace reference
-Broader context
-US allies
-Compared to friendships
-Israel
-Europe
-Latin America
-Peking and Moscow references
-Length
Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Report from Bangkok
Ronald L. Ziegler entered at 4:15 pm.
Vietnam settlement
-Nguyen Van Thieu
-Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, Jr.
-Timing
-Consequences
-Barry M. Goldwater
[End of telephone conversation]
President's Inaugural speech
-Final draft
-Release
-Preliminary notes and outline
-Timing
-William E. Timmons
-Raymond K. Price, Jr.
-Hugh Scott
-Gerald R. Ford
-Character
-Price
-Final draft
-Release
-Embargo
-4-
NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Conversation No. 398-3 (cont’d)
-Timmons
-Press relations
-Scott and Ford
-Timmons
-Copies
-Ziegler's time commitment to wire services
Vietnam settlement
-Announcement
-Historical significance
-Library
-Haig’s report
Press relations
-Press questions
-Press conference
-Date
-Signing
1973 Inauguration events
-Announcement
-Concerts
-Ziegler’s wife
-Frank Sinatra
-Christmas
President's schedule
-H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
Ziegler left at 4:29 pm.Also recorded on January 19, 1973
- 036-007 4:12 PM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 4:12 pm.
- 036-010 4:12 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
- 036-011 4:12 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
- 036-012 4:12 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
- 036-013 4:12 PM · 30 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 4:12 pm and 7:29 pm.
- 398-002 4:12 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 4:12 pm.
- 398-004 4:29 PM · 11 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 4:29 pm and 4:40 pm.
- 398-005 4:29 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 4:29 pm and 4:40 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 398-003, January 19, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/398-003 (accessed October 11, 2026).