Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 444 › Conversation 444-018

Nixon & Haig on Vietnam War and South Vietnam

Tuesday, June 12, 1973 · 1:16 PM–1:24 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation444-018 on Tape 444StartTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 1:16 PMEndTuesday, June 12, 1973 at 1:24 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 444-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Richard Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met to coordinate administration strategy regarding Vietnam policy and upcoming domestic economic announcements. They discussed maintaining support for South Vietnamese President Thieu and reviewed preparations for a high-level economic meeting involving Arthur Burns and George Shultz. Additionally, the President provided guidance on the tone and content for an impending address concerning price control measures, specifically regarding food and gasoline costs.

Audio

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NARA Description

On June 12, 1973, 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 1:16 pm and 1:24 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 444-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 444-18

Date: June 12, 1973
Time: Unknown between 1:16 pm and 1:24 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an Alexander M. Haig, Jr. [?].

       Vietnam negotiations
             -President’s previous conversation with Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft
                    -President’s support for Thieu
                            -Meeting with Congressional leaders
                            -Economic support
                                              -17-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                             Conversation No. 444-18 (cont’d)

                             -South Vietnamese lections
                             -Communique
                             -Election
                             -Communique
                                     -Partition

       President’s schedule
              -Forthcoming economic policy meeting
                      -Arthur F. Burns
                             -George P. Shultz
                             -Policy recommendations
                                    -Haig’s possible conversation with Burns
                                           -President’s view of Burns’s comments
                                                   -Congressional relations
                                                   -Long-term
                                                   -Tax bill

       President’s forthcoming address announcing price control measures
              -Length and tone
                      -President’s conversation with Raymond K. Price, Jr.
              -George Shultz, Herbert Stein
              -Gasoline and food prices

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 3 minutes of this recording (about 53% 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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Hi, uh, this is Dr. Stilcroft, and I've got a point for our arrest in June 3rd.
Yeah.
And I, uh, I told him that I wanted you to tell him that I wanted you to tell him that I wanted you to tell him that.
I don't think it's what he personally knows of me.
He's a human, and that's the way it is.
The President has to be sure that he's a human.
The President has to be sure that he's a human.
The President has to be sure that he's a human.
The President has to be sure that he's a human.
The President has to be sure that he's a human.
I'll make the election myself.
I'll say, in actual, I see it for me more than I have in our community.
Second point, with regard to Arden, we have a tariff meeting.
I don't think it should be there, but if you want to go to Arden, you can go to Arden.
You can go to Arden.
You can go to Arden.
You can go to Arden.
You can go to Arden.
uh, that we, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that,
But I thought his comments were brilliant, that I had a moment.
But that this would not, it would not work out because the present time for the Congress, the Congress has been about to go on for such a long time.
And therefore, it would be that it would not have been credible, but that I think we ought to do that in the longer term, that we get our tax bill, that we throw in that three-year bill, that we should have that bill.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The main thing is I just want to hear what you're starting to come up with.
I know they're stopping right now just because of how we got there.
And they've just got to get this package out and make it appear as much as it can be.
And believe me, do as little as we can.
That's all.
But I will show you.
Yeah, I'm trying.
Yeah, I'm trying.
Okay.
But this would not, it would not work out because the President, actually the Congress, the Congress is about to go on with such a thing.
And therefore, it would be that we're not having credibility, but that I think we ought to do that in a longer term.
Because we've been attached to it.
It's really an entry-level condition that we should have.
I spent about an hour.
Yeah.
I still need to ask about the legacy of the 12-year-old, the 12-year-old, the 12-year-old, the 12-year-old, and the 15-year-old, the 12-year-old, and the 12-year-old.
And I also need a more positive about these children.
You know, the rail companies, I'm not looking at that.
I'm looking at that.
The main thing is I just want to show you this guy.
I know they're sorry.
Just because of how we got there.
And they just got to get this package and all of it.
And make it appear as much as it can be.
And believe me, do as little as we can.
That's all.
Gas pump.
But I just want to show you this.
Yeah.
I'm trying.
Yeah.
All right.
Okay.

Also recorded on June 12, 1973

  • 040-030 1:15 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at 1:15 pm.
  • 040-031 1:15 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft talked on the telephone from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 444-015 1:15 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:15 pm and 1:16 pm.
  • 444-016 1:15 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Gen. Brent G. Scowcroft met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:15 pm to 1:16 pm.
  • 040-032 1:16 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:24 pm.
  • 444-017 1:16 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:16 pm and 1:24 pm.
  • 040-033 1:24 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. talked on the telephone from 1:24 pm to 1:41 pm.
  • 444-019 1:24 PM · 21 min — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:24 pm to 1:41 pm.

All 85 conversations from June 12, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 444-018, June 12, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/444-018 (accessed November 12, 2026).