Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 916 › Conversation 916-009

Nixon & Haig on Henry Kissinger and Secretary of State

Friday, May 11, 1973 · 9:16 AM ET · Oval Office · 52 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Haig, Alexander M., Jr.Conversation916-009 on Tape 916StartFriday, May 11, 1973 at 9:16 AMEndFriday, May 11, 1973 at 9:16 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 916-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Alexander Haig discuss the potential resignation of Henry Kissinger and his future role as Secretary of State. The President considers the strategic timing of offering Kissinger the position to ensure political stability. The conversation focuses on navigating this sensitive cabinet transition and determining the best approach for delivering the offer.

Audio

Download MP3 · 1.6 MB

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

Well, you mean if he wants to resign?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, then, as far as I'm concerned, uh, let me tell you this.
A real question.
Do you think I should get him on the mountaintop and let him know that he's gonna get a secretary job at a certain time?

NARA Description

On May 11, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:16 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 916-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 916-9

Date: May 11, 1973
Time: 9:16 am
Location: Oval Office

The President talked with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

      Haig’s schedule
           -Meeting with Henry A. Kissinger
                 -Position of Secretary of State

Also recorded on May 11, 1973

  • 045-218 8:27 AM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:30 am.
  • 045-219 8:27 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:27 am and 8:30 am.
  • 916-008 8:27 AM · 1 hr 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Rose Mary Woods, White House operator, and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 8:27 am to 9:16 am.
  • 045-220 8:30 AM · 15 sec — White House operator and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 8:30 am.
  • 045-221 8:43 AM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry L. Bellmon talked on the telephone from 8:43 am to 8:44 am.
  • 916-010 9:19 AM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at 9:19 am.
  • 916-011 9:19 AM · 50 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. met in the Oval Office of the White House from 9:19 am to 10:10 am.
  • 916-012 10:10 AM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 10:10 am and 10:15 am.

All 78 conversations from May 11, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 916-009, May 11, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/916-009 (accessed October 5, 2026).