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Conversation 036-091

TapeTape 36StartTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 10:44 PMEndTuesday, January 23, 1973 at 10:47 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Price, Raymond K., Jr.Recording deviceWhite House Telephone
AI Summary

President Nixon and speechwriter Raymond K. Price, Jr. discuss the positive reception of the Vietnam peace settlement announcement and the notably negative reaction from the press corps. Nixon recounts how Julie Nixon Eisenhower observed CBS reporters appearing distraught by the news, which the President interpreted as a sign of intellectual frustration among journalists who had anticipated a failure. Nixon also reflects on his successful briefing of Congressional leaders and draws stylistic parallels between the clarity of the announcement and his recent inaugural address.

Vietnam WarMedia relationsPublic opinionCongressional relationsSpeechwriting
AudioNARA Description

On January 23, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Raymond K. Price, Jr. talked on the telephone from 10:44 pm to 10:47 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-091 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 36-91

Date: January 23, 1973
Time: 10:44 pm - 10:47 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Raymond K Price, Jr.

       Vietnam settlement
            -Press response to announcement
                  -Julie Nixon Eisenhower’s view
                         -Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) reporters
                         -Dan Rather
                         -[Arnold] Eric Sevareid
                         -Marvin L. Kalb
                         -Ronald L. Ziegler’s report
                              -Press room
            -The President’s briefing of Congressional leaders
                  -Michael J. (“Mike”) Mansfield, Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill, Jr.
            -The President’s announcement
                  -1973 Inaugural speech
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

I thought you'd be interested to know that my daughter Julie gave me an indication that we must have been successful.
She said she had never seen
The CBS crew said, Dan Rather, Eric Severide, Marvin Kalb were just dying.
They thought, I mean, they said they know that it was a horrible thing, that peace had come, and they were so sick about it.
And so, you know what I mean?
And she was, but it pleased her because she realized that with the line they had taken that we'd really stuck them in the groin.
but the press uh ron says he's never seen the press room so depressed never the worst he's ever seen him remember just what i told you they'd be not the photographers no it's but the writing press because they can't stand as i tell you really their intellectual cannot stand to be proved wrong i i i want uh i think all of it i caught part of the uh cbs commentary after
And they were sort of just floundering, really.
I know, but as Julie said, they looked green, and that's a good reaction.
But on the other side, she thought the speech was beautifully written and concise and so forth, and she got all the points, so that's good.
I thought it came off superb there, really did.
Well, anyway, the point that I want to say is that you... Oh, listen, listen, let me tell you.
We did exactly the right thing.
I could sense when I briefed the leaders.
They were so bamboozled.
You know, Mansfield sat there with his mouth open, and Tip O'Neill, of course, was the top.
And they would have been, they would have been a hell of a time.
And it's the wrong thing with Johnson.
But here we could talk, you could talk about the POW.
You see, talking to them, talking to the North Vietnamese.
You couldn't have done that from the Congress.
You see?
And we made exactly the right decision, but let me say that the language and everything, getting this in these simple terms, and as a matter of fact, it's the same, I feel, I felt it had sort of the same simplicity and leanness that the inaugural had, you know?
Didn't you think so?
Yes.
In many ways, I like this in many ways even better.
I think just because I thought the inaugural was very good when it came off.
This, I thought, was just superbly fitted to the occasion.
All right.
Well, take a little rest.
Okay.
Thank you.
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