130. Telephone Conversation Between President Nixon and the President’s Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs (Haig)1
Nixon: Now, on the matter today, we’ve got that I think is—I don’t know what more we can do with these clowns but we’ll—
Haig: Yeah, I think we’ve got a couple of tough nuts to get over here between now and the time they leave.2 They’re still pretty strong on a couple of points and that’s what we’re working on.
Nixon: Well, they’re [chuckles]—they’re tough on the points that are almost insoluble. That—
Haig: That’s right. That’s right.
Nixon: But we’ve got to stand firm, you see? We—I mean, they just got to realize it, and it’s really true that January 3d3 is too late.
Haig: That’s right. Well, I think they—
Nixon: Don’t you agree?
Haig: —got that message—yes, sir, and I think they’re just hoping beyond hope that they can get some changes, some of which are impossible to get.
Nixon: But don’t you think we should stand firm?
Haig: We have to.
Nixon: Yeah. All right. That’s what we’ll do then.
Haig: Right, sir. Well then—
Nixon: And, uh—
Haig: —it’s going to take some work.
Nixon: Are you going to be with Henry in—?
Haig: In Paris. Yes, sir.
Nixon: Good. Well, you just have to see that he stays right on track, and—
[Page 481]Haig: Oh, he will. Uh-huh. I’m not worried about—
Nixon: No, he’ll do everything he can.
Haig: Yes, sir.
Nixon: But, in the meantime, what these people—there’s really nothing more we can do, you know? Those—they’ve just got to realize that all this—
Haig: Exactly, exactly.
Nixon: You know, that—
Haig: So, they’re [unclear]—it’s coming through. It’s just a traumatic thing for them.
Nixon: I know.
Haig: They just [unclear].
Nixon: Well, I couldn’t have given the message to them stronger today than I did, you know, I think.
Haig: Oh, no. God. There wasn’t any doubt about it. They—they know.
Nixon: Um-hmm.
Haig: They know, and I think tomorrow we’ll have it sorted down to the manageable two or three pieces.
Nixon: Right.
Haig: And we’ll just put the frosting on the cake.
Nixon: Right. Okay, Al. Fine.
Haig: Good, sir.
- Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Tapes, Conversation 34–5. No classification marking. According to the President’s Daily Diary, Nixon held a telephone conversation with Haig from 7:53 to 7:55 p.m. (Ibid., White House Central Files) The editors transcribed the portions of the conversation printed here specifically for this volume.↩
- Haig’s reference is to the visit of Nguyen Phu Duc, Special Assistant to President Thieu, accompanied by Tran Kim Phuong, South Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States. They had met with Nixon earlier in the day (see Document 131) and would meet with him again the next day.↩
- The Constitution required Congress to convene on January 3d, unless they chose by law to do otherwise. Congress did not convene until January 18.↩