Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 748 › Conversation 748-008

Nixon & Kissinger on George McGovern and security briefings

Thursday, July 20, 1972 · 12:03 PM ET · Oval Office · 21 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation748-008 on Tape 748StartThursday, July 20, 1972 at 12:03 PMEndThursday, July 20, 1972 at 12:03 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 748-008 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger met to discuss the political implications of providing a security briefing to Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. They evaluated the potential strategic impact of this action in light of concerns raised by H.R. Haldeman. Ultimately, the two men deliberated on whether to grant the request, weighing the political benefits and risks associated with engaging the opposition.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello, uh, Henry.
Uh, if you, uh, work on that, then, uh, we can, uh, do it.
No.
Uh, I have a different idea of where Bob just raised my name.
It makes a good deal of sense.
Yeah.

NARA Description

On July 20, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:03 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 748-008 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 748-8

Date: July 20, 1972
Time: 12:03 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger.

     George S. McGovern's briefing
         -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman's view

Also recorded on July 20, 1972

  • 748-009 12:03 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:03 pm.
  • 748-010 12:03 PM · 15 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House on an unknown date, sometime between 12:03 pm on July 20, 1972 and 10:09 am on July 21, 1972.
  • 349-001 12:04 PM · 16 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:04 pm to 12:20 pm.
  • 027-021 12:20 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:20 pm and 2:02 pm.
  • 349-002 12:20 PM · 9 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 12:20 pm and 2:02 pm.
  • 349-003 12:20 PM · 8 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 12:20 pm and 2:02 pm.
  • 349-004 12:20 PM · 29 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Manolo Sanchez, and Rose Mary Woods met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:20 pm and 2:02 pm.
  • 349-005 12:20 PM · 8 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 12:20 pm and 2:02 pm.

All 50 conversations from July 20, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 748-008, July 20, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/748-008 (accessed October 2, 2026).