Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 407 › Conversation 407-018

Nixon, Colson & Kissinger on Vietnam Peace Settlement and Public Relations

Tuesday, January 23, 1973 · 6:22 PM–7:23 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 1 hr 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Colson, Charles W.; Kissinger, Henry A.; Sanchez, Manolo; White House operator; Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation407-018 on Tape 407StartTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 6:22 PMEndTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 7:23 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 407-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Charles Colson and Henry Kissinger to discuss public relations strategies regarding the impending Vietnam peace settlement and the anticipated political fallout from domestic critics. The participants reviewed plans to coordinate with congressional leaders and labor figures to build support, while also addressing a recent Supreme Court ruling on abortion and Colson's ongoing legal dispute with Time magazine. Nixon and Kissinger finalized preparations and messaging for an upcoming televised speech intended to address the war's conclusion and defend the administration's past policies.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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But I think, I really believe truckers, unless they hit them hard,

Hello.

you just go in.

for a while or two.

Thank you.

So what?

So what's wrong with you?

Especially when I go down to the moon, and it's not easy.

The reason I was there,

How have you been?

Congratulations.

I don't think they should be out of it.

Thank you.

Do you have any support of the police?

I don't think that's the way to do something like this.

Thank you.

Do you want to call in?

you

Thank you.

I don't want to do that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I do.

Oh, I do.

All right.

Thank you for watching.

Very happy to work with you.

That's it.

NARA Description

On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Charles W. Colson, Henry A. Kissinger, Manolo Sanchez, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 6:22 pm and 7:23 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 407-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 407-18

Date: January 23, 1973
Time: Between 6:22 pm and 7:23 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Charles W. Colson.

       Vietnam settlement
            -Campaign against the President's opponents
                         -Colson's office's role
                         -Barry M. Goldwater's role
                  -Political left
                         -Response
                         -White House response
                  -Raymond K. Price, Jr.’s comment
                         -Washington Post editorial
                               -Effect of bombing and mining
                  -Effect on country, Congress, youth
                         -Divisiveness
                  -Goldwater's role
            -Tenuousness
                  -Cease-fire violations
                         -Press coverage
                               -Phnom Penh
            -The President's statements
                  -1972 election
            -Colson's plan
                  -Congressional relations
                  -Labor leaders
                         -George Meany
                         -Frank E. Fitzsimmons
                               -Statement
                               -Ronald L. Ziegler
                                      -15-

           NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                       Conversation No. 407-18 (cont’d)

           -Apology from President's critics
           -Delay in peace process by critics
           -Spiro T. Agnew
                  -Haldeman
     -Public opinion
     -The President's critics
           -Bombing
           -Cambodia
           -Laos
           -November 3, 1969 speech
           -Demonstrations
           -May 8, 1972 decision
                  -World War II
     -Peter J. Brennan
           -Congress
           -Possible statement
     -Effect on news reporting
     -William P. Rogers
           -Congress
     -Briefings
           -Congressional leaders
           -Press
     -The President's speech
     -Briefings
           -Kissinger
     -Press relations
           -New York Times, Time
                  -The President's talk with Ziegler on White House staff contacts

Colson's lawsuit against Time
     -Colson's lawyer's meeting with Time
     -Retraction
     -Purpose of Time story
            -Malice
            -Subsciptions
                  -Sensational stories
            -Saturday Evening Post, Look, Life examples
     -Story on Marlon Brando
            -Patrick J. Buchanan
                                           -16-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 407-18 (cont’d)

       Supreme Court decision on abortion
            -Roe v. Wade
            -Two dissenting justices
            -Effects
                   -Conservatives
                   -State laws
                   -Teenage girls
            -3-month rule
            -Interracial cases
            -Rape cases
            -Effects
                   -Social consequences
                         -Permissiveness
                         -Family
            -Two dissenting justices
                   -William H. Rehnquist, Lewis F. Powell
                   -Rehnquist, Byron R. (“Whizzer”) White
                         -Writing of decisions

Henry A. Kissinger entered at 6:35 pm.

       Vietnam settlement
            -Congratulations
                  -Croix de Guerre
            -The President's opponents
                  -Colson's plan

Colson left at 6:36 pm.

       Vietnam settlement
            -The President's forthcoming speech
                  -Revisions
                        -Wording
                  -Advance distribution
                  -Price's and President's work
                  -President's opponents
                  -Revisions
                        -Vietnamese translation
                        -Text copy
                                            -17-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 407-18 (cont’d)

The President talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 6:36 pm and
6:38 pm.

[Conversation No. 407-18A]

[See Conversation No. 36-88]

[End of telephone conversation.]

       Vietnam settlement
            -The President’s and Kissinger’s predictions
                  -Nguyen Van Thieu

The President talked with Ziegler between 6:38 pm and 6:40 pm

[Conversation No. 407-18B]

[See Conversation No. 36-89

[End of telephone conversation]

       Vietnam settlement
            -White House public relations [PR] effort [?]
                  -Price,
            -Alexander M. Haig’s trip
            -The President's speech
                  -Location
                        -Bella Abzug, George S. McGovern
                        -Ziegler
            -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
            -Spiro T. Agnew
            -Haig
            -Cease-fire [?]
            -William P. Rogers
            -The President’s speech [?]
                  -Wording [?]
                        -Paragraphs
            -Agnew

Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 6:40 pm.
                                               -18-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 407-18 (cont’d)

       Refreshment order

Sanchez left at an unknown time before 7:23 pm.

       Vietnam settlement
            -Saigon [?]
            -Rogers
            -Thieu [?]
                  -Meeting with Haig [?]
            -Bombing
            -Future of South Vietnam
                  -Government [?]
                  -Sacrifices [?]
            -The President's schedule
                  -Congressional leaders meeting
                  -Camp David [?]
            -Congress [?]
            -South Vietnamese
                  -Thieu
            -North Vietnam
            -Bombing
            -Cambodia
            -Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China [PRC]
            -North Vietnam
            -Cease-fire
                  -Laos
            -South Vietnam
            -Rogers [?]

Manolo Sanchez entered at an unknown time after 6:40 pm.

       PRC

Kissinger and Sanchez left at 7:23 pm.
                                              -19-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

Also recorded on January 23, 1973

407-010 5:29 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 5:29 pm and 6:19 pm.
407-011 5:29 PM · 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 5:29 pm and 6:19 pm.
036-087 6:19 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 6:19 pm.
407-016 6:19 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 6:19 pm.
407-017 6:19 PM · 33 sec — 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 6:19 pm and 6:22 pm.
036-088 6:36 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:36 pm and 6:38 pm.
036-089 6:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:38 pm and 6:40 pm.
036-090 6:40 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 6:40 pm and 10:44 pm.

All 94 conversations from January 23, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 407-018, January 23, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/407-018 (accessed October 12, 2026).