Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 447 › Conversation 447-031

Nixon, Kissinger & Fulbright on Leonid Brezhnev and Diplomatic strategy

Thursday, June 21, 1973 · 3:56 PM–4:08 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 12 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Fulbright, J. WilliamConversation447-031 on Tape 447StartThursday, June 21, 1973 at 3:56 PMEndThursday, June 21, 1973 at 4:08 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 447-031 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to coordinate the upcoming visit of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and manage the accompanying diplomatic strategy, including the preparation of communiqués and the involvement of U.S. allies. A significant portion of the discussion focused on scheduling a briefing for Senator J. William Fulbright and his committee, which Kissinger ultimately moved to the following morning to ensure he could provide a more comprehensive and detailed update. The participants also discussed the necessity of maintaining international perceptions and the importance of presenting a unified administrative stance regarding ongoing negotiations.

Audio

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NARA Description

On June 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and J. William Fulbright met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:56 pm to 4:08 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 447-031 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 447-31

Date: June 21, 1973
Time: 3:56 pm - 4:08 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

     Leonid I. Brezhnev’s visit
                                            -30-

                  NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                            Conversation No. 447-40 (cont’d)

           -Kissinger’s recent briefing
                 -Tone
                       -Duration
                       -Reaction
                 -Watergate
           -Helmut (“Hal”) Sonnenfeldt’s briefing
           -William P. Rogers
           -Kissinger’s schedule
                 -J. William Fulbright’s committee
                       -Briefing
                             -Timing
           -President’s conversation with Brezhnev

Kissinger talked with the White House operator at an unknown time between 3:56 pm and 4:08
pm.

[Conversation No. 447-31A]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 41-23]

[End telephone conversation]

     Brezhnev’s visit
          -President’s recent conversation with Brezhnev
                -Principles
                -Soviet summit [?]

Kissinger talked with Fulbright at an unknown time between 3:56 pm and 4:08 pm.]
Show the rest of the log (59 more lines)
[Conversation No. 447-31B]

[Begin telephone conversation]

[See Conversation No. 41-24]

[End telephone conversation]
                                           -31-

             NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                        Conversation No. 447-40 (cont’d)

Kissinger’s schedule
      -Briefing
            -Timing
                 -Kissinger’s recent conversation with Fulbright

Brezhnev’s visit
     -Fulbright and Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield

People’s Republic of China [PRC]
     -Unknown person

Brezhnev’s visit
     -President’s schedule
           -June 23, 1973
     -PRC
           -Brezhnev’s interest
           -Ambassador
     -William G. Hyland
           -North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]
                 -French Foreign Minister
     -Photograph opportunity
           -PRC officials
     -President’s achievements
           -Future
     -Possible statement
     -Communique
     -Allies
     -Communique
           -Signing
     -Anatoliy F. Dobrynin

Kissinger’s schedule
      -Recent briefing
            -Questions
                  -Negotiation specifics
                       -Answers
                                             -32-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                          Conversation No. 447-40 (cont’d)

      President’s schedule

Kissinger left at 4:08 pm.

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 6 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

Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).

Very well.
If you are left without a mystery, surely all of us can't figure out what to deal with.
I know.
I'm very positive I've reached for 40 minutes and could have gone another hour.
That's a question.
But it must have been.
What month?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, that's it.
Good.
Three-second month.
But no, it was a cage reference.
It was all that age.
Right.
Yeah.
No.
No, no.
I mean, that's where it was.
It was all the street.
Well, it is.
Well, I didn't know it was it.
I saw it on the phone.
I didn't know it was it.
And so, you know, they understand.
You know, every time we do something that they were dishonest with, we can ask them to still call the fire department.
I had agreed to meet the full-price committee today at 5.
You can't do nothing about it, you see?
No, I don't think you can.
No, I don't think so.
I don't think I should have checked into that, you see?
It's pretty fine.
It's all about you.
It's all about you.
You're fine being in line.
You're fine being in there.
But if it was a workout, I'd be putting it on for the rest of the gym.
I'd be sure that the rest of the gym would be done by the end of the month.
Yeah.
Whatever it is you're trying to put out there.
And, uh, it's important that my hard distance shouldn't be out there.
But actually, I can get it to the same rate that you expect it not to be, especially when you're in the middle of the year.
You can get anything for a change.
You just hide it in the middle of the day.
I have a little question I have a little question I will direct you to some folks that I have asked you that I have asked you before we got to the point
I didn't mean it that way.
I said, would you do better than last time?
Yeah.
Hello?
Mr. Chandler?
Hi.
And I was wondering whether there was any chance, I know we talked about it once before, of moving it to 8.30 in the morning.
I'll tell you with that duty request, there was a bit of some discussion here.
And secondly, I could give you a really complete round-up and some advance information at 8.30 tomorrow that I couldn't do tonight.
And I wondered whether there was any chance of doing that.
I'd be glad to invite you all here for breakfast, but I'd be also happy to meet some new guys.
You want to have somebody check in the next 20 minutes or so.
And if it is possible, I'll meet wherever you say it is.
Well, look, if it's a question of...
I must be good to do it tomorrow if it...
and some of the talks that are still going on.
In fact, I'd have to leave one area open as well.
Tomorrow I could cover the whole thing and give you a complete picture.
I think it'd be more useful if you could make it tomorrow.
If you can, if you can do it,
I understand.
Well, because I couldn't come then for another two and a half weeks, if I don't come today.
Good, Mr. James.
Just set it up so if I don't come in time, if I don't travel today, I'll know.
I've told him I couldn't tell him, so I'll have to tell him in time.
Well, I think it would be a good fit.
But I don't think he's got a good chance.
I think he's got a good chance.
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
I think that the Chinese have a very active international community.
They have the Naval Council.
They have the French Foreign Ministry.
They have the law.
They have the Transcontinental Law.
But you might just have the pictures up to you.
They don't expect it.
So they don't know what's going on.
But the wearing thing, which was why I had to do this, was because I had no doubt that if I got in the street, I was going to be in the street.
And all this grass, I was going to be able to fix mine, which I was going to have to do.
I think we should maybe do more of these things.
You know?
Oh, yeah, right.
You got to sit here.
I don't know if that's something you should say.
That's it.
Take that.
Let me suggest this.
Tomorrow, if we can have a written statement from each of us, it might be an idea that we can have.
I don't know if that's a good thing.
I don't know if that's a good thing.
I think it's a better improvement than we did in the past.
I think it's a better improvement than we did in the past.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
I think that I will do.
Anything today is a lot of trouble, Mark.
And let your kids search it a little more.
Or a hundred.
But at the end of the day, I actually didn't have a deal with her.
I thought it was fine.
And she thought it was a reason.
She was like, well, you know, they all expected it to be like this.
But they're all coming up to me and they want to get this.
And I'm talking to them.
I mean, that is good.
But there's a lot of other things that are going to trigger it.
People are going to do it.
President of the United States of America.
President of the United States of America.
President of the United States of America.
President of the United States of America.
President of the United States of America.
Well, the other thing that may be great for this bridge is that actually you're better off not having to go through them all the time, because they're much better than those.
Well, your next bridge will be safe.
Right.
Well, great.
Great.

Also recorded on June 21, 1973

  • 041-021 3:45 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 447-026 3:45 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 3:45 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 447-027 3:45 PM · 45 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 3:45 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 447-028 3:45 PM · 10 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 3:45 pm and 3:52 pm.
  • 041-022 3:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 3:52 pm to 3:56 pm.
  • 447-030 3:52 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:52 pm to 3:56 pm.
  • 041-023 3:55 PM · 15 sec — Henry A. Kissinger and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:08 pm.
  • 041-024 3:55 PM · 3 min — Henry A. Kissinger and J. William Fulbright talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:55 pm and 4:08 pm.

All 27 conversations from June 21, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 447-031, June 21, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/447-031 (accessed October 29, 2026).