Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 799 › Conversation 799-011

Nixon & Kissinger on Vietnam negotiations and Nguyen Van Thieu

Monday, October 16, 1972 · 10:22 AM–10:23 AM ET · Oval Office · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Kissinger, Henry A.Conversation799-011 on Tape 799StartMonday, October 16, 1972 at 10:22 AMEndMonday, October 16, 1972 at 10:23 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 799-011 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed the logistical arrangements for upcoming Vietnam peace negotiations, focusing on a potential secret meeting with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu at Midway Island. They deliberated on travel schedules to Hanoi, Saigon, and Midway while strategizing how to keep these plans discreet, specifically aiming to exclude Secretary of State William P. Rogers from the core negotiations. The pair agreed to finalize the itinerary to ensure diplomatic secrecy and maintain control over the high-stakes peace process.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Mr. President, I've got one other thought, just to have it in mind.
Supposing, Mr. President, I go to Illinois.
Could I then offer to meet you in Midway next week?
Any time.
You see, supposing we did it this way, I come back from Illinois.
You go out to Midway, meet you in Midway.
Then you come back from Midway, and I don't see a schedule.
I thought of that, and I said, don't clear that with Hall or anybody.
I don't want this disgusting thing.
I said, if you and I have that private side deal, then I'll cancel the whole thing and schedule it.
That would be an even more dramatic way.
That's right.
We'd go to Hanoi.
That's right.
And then Biden.
I'd come back with Biden.
Right.
I go from Siouxtown to Midway.
That's right.
I'll meet you at Midway with you.
Good night.
Or I'll come back here and go to Midway.
No, no, no.
You go to Midway, and I'll meet there, and I'll fly you to Midway.
I'm afraid you'll have Rogers in your hand.
I'm not saying you're wrong.
I don't think so.
What the hell's the difference?
What's the difference?
He'll have to...
But I'll just leave you alone and have Rogers go to the foreman's.
And that might be another way of doing it.
Yeah.
Okay.
Rogers and Johnson.
Yeah.
Okay, good.
Good deal, Henry.
Good.
And that he might have had.
Okay.

NARA Description

On October 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:22 am to 10:23 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 799-011 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 799-11

Date: October 16, 1972

Time: 10:22 am - 10:23 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Henry A. Kissinger.

         Vietnam negotiations
             -Kissinger's schedule
                 -Hanoi
             -The President's possible meeting with Nguyen Van Thieu
                 -Midway Island
                     -Timing
                 -H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
                 -Kissinger’s schedule
                     -Hanoi
                     -Saigon
                     -Midway
                 -William P. Rogers
                     -Possible meeting with Foreign Minister
                     -U. Alexis Johnson

Kissinger left at 10:23 am.

Also recorded on October 16, 1972

  • 031-049 9:33 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 9:33 am and 10:12 am.
  • 799-010 10:13 AM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:13 am to 10:19 am.
  • 799-012 10:24 AM · 48 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:24 am to 10:25 am.
  • 799-013 10:25 AM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:25 am and 10:27 am.
  • 799-014 10:27 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:27 am to 10:28 am.
  • 799-015 10:28 AM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:28 am and 10:47 am.
  • 031-052 10:47 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Barry M. Goldwater talked on the telephone from 10:47 am to 10:48 am.
  • 799-016 10:47 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Barry M. Goldwater, and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:47 am to 10:48 am.

All 97 conversations from October 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 799-011, October 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/799-011 (accessed October 1, 2026).