Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 705 › Conversation 705-016

Nixon, Kissinger & White House photographer on Presidential gifts

Monday, April 10, 1972 · 4:41 PM–4:45 PM ET · Oval Office · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.; Kissinger, Louis; Kissinger, Paul ("Stern"); White House photographerConversation705-016 on Tape 705 (tape position 04:35:27–04:38:55)StartMonday, April 10, 1972 at 4:41 PMEndMonday, April 10, 1972 at 4:45 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 705-016 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon hosted Henry Kissinger’s father, Louis, and his wife, Paula, for a brief social visit to the Oval Office. The meeting served as a gesture of appreciation for Henry Kissinger’s service, during which the President formally commended the parents for their son’s achievements. Nixon presented the couple with commemorative presidential gifts, including a money clip and a compact, before concluding the session with a photo opportunity.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, yes, how are you?

Well, that means he must be very proud of you.

Do you know if he ever really did a picture of you?

Oh, yeah.

That man here.

He is very, very proud of you.

I guess I have that as where .

Are you ready?

I think it's one of the most .

I was highly impressed by this.

You ought to be proud of the fact that you

You have brought into the world a very strong man.

Sometimes just a little liberal.

I want to give you a couple of crickets to take with you if you'd like.

This is a video of Michael.

Did you know?

I think you've got it.

This is a signal, of course.

Here it is.

And this is a, this is a money clip for you.

You handle the money.

This is the same thing, but it's a little compact.

Oh.

This is a small, little,

Well, we guess this will be a new one.

You can see how we evolve the space so well.

They're so smart.

Well, thank you.

I'm not saying that we need to help and thank you.

I'm just saying that you are.

Thank you.

NARA Description

On April 10, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Louis Kissinger, Paul ("Stern") Kissinger, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:41 pm to 4:45 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 705-016 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 705-16

Date: April 10, 1972
Time: 4:41 pm - 4:45 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger, Louis Kissinger and Paula (Stern) Kissinger; the
White House photographer was present at the beginning of the meeting.

     Greetings and introductions

     Kissinger

     [Photograph session]
          -Arrangement

     Kissinger
          -Service to administration and world

     Presidential gifts
           -Presidential seal
                 -Money clip
                 -Compact

     Photographs
          -Copies

     Previous visit

     Louis and Paula Kissinger's grandchildren, Elizabeth and David Kissinger
          -Intelligence

     Henry A. Kissinger

Kissinger et al left at 4:45 pm.

Also recorded on April 10, 1972

022-100 3:05 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield talked on the telephone from 3:05 pm to 3:06 pm.
330-029 3:06 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:10 pm.
330-030 3:06 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:06 pm and 3:10 pm.
330-031 3:10 PM · 45 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), White House operator, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:10 pm to 3:55 pm.
705-015 4:00 PM · 36 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, Stephen B. Bull, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:00 pm and 4:41 pm.
705-017 4:45 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:45 pm to 4:46 pm.
705-018 4:46 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:46 pm to 5:01 pm.
705-019 5:01 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:01 pm and 11:59 pm.

All 36 conversations from April 10, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 705-016, April 10, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/705-016 (accessed October 1, 2026).