Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 719 › Conversation 719-023

United States Secret Service agents on Vietnam War and Moscow Summit

Thursday, May 4, 1972 · 1:51 PM–8:44 AM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsUnited States Secret Service agentsConversation719-023 on Tape 719 (tape position 03:49:10–03:50:26)StartThursday, May 4, 1972 at 1:51 PMEndFriday, May 5, 1972 at 8:44 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 719-023 ↗

AI Summary

Secret Service agents discussed domestic political sentiment regarding the President’s handling of the Vietnam War and the upcoming Moscow summit. The participants reviewed internal polling data indicating strong public support for the bombing of North Vietnam despite the ongoing conflict. They ultimately advised against canceling the summit, arguing that public opinion favored maintaining the diplomatic engagement regardless of the military situation in Southeast Asia.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 167.4 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 155.3 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:49:10 into the tape and ends around 03:50:26.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
3:49:13And it just irritated the shit out of Bryce.
3:49:38Well, Bob, as far as the bombing of North Vietnam, our own poll shows clearly that people are for that.
3:49:44That's one thing that's staying clear.
3:49:51We've got to do it now.
3:49:53After the fact, you know, the road, he finally came to his position not knowing the poll.
3:49:57And he said, he said, I would have, I said two things.
3:50:02And 60% say that wasn't very far off.
3:50:04But his point was two-thirds of the people want you to go to the summit, regardless of what's happening in Vietnam.
3:50:10They don't see it as being one precluding the other.
3:50:15That's why you shouldn't cancel the summit.
3:50:22Plus, that way, if you get a chance of keeping the summit on, if you cancel it, then it's done.
3:50:28So why do you have to set 50-50, and exist at 50-50 if you try to get less?
3:50:30Sorry, better than 80-20, 20-20.
3:50:31We're not that close.
3:50:32So you still ask that or not.
3:50:33We just want to be better than the worst.

NARA Description

United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 1:51 pm on May 4, 1972 and 8:44 am on May 5, 1972. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 719-023 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 719-23

Date: May 4-unknown before May 5, 1972
Time: Unknown after 1:51 pm, May 4, 1972 and before 8:44 am, May 5, 1972
Location: Oval Office

Unknown persons [Secret Service agents] entered.

     President's location

The conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 8:44 am, May 5, 1972.

Also recorded on May 4, 1972

  • 719-020 1:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:21 pm and 1:24 pm.
  • 719-021 1:21 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:21 pm and 1:24 pm.
  • 719-022 1:24 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Alexander P. Butterfield, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:24 pm to 1:51 pm.
  • 023-151 1:52 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:52 pm and 2:51 pm.
  • 334-037 1:52 PM · 3 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 1:52 pm and 2:51 pm.
  • 334-038 1:52 PM · 19 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 1:52 pm and 2:51 pm.
  • 334-039 1:52 PM · 14 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 1:52 pm and 2:51 pm.
  • 334-040 1:52 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:52 pm and 2:51 pm.

All 48 conversations from May 4, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 719-023, May 4, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/719-023 (accessed October 9, 2026).