Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 1 › Conversation 001-032

Nixon, Ziegler & Eisenhower on Southeast Asia policy and Presidential speeches

Wednesday, April 7, 1971 · 10:49 PM–10:50 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan); Eisenhower, Julie NixonConversation001-032 on Tape 1 (tape position 01:10:56–01:12:36)StartWednesday, April 7, 1971 at 10:49 PMEndWednesday, April 7, 1971 at 10:50 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 001-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Ronald Ziegler, Pat Nixon, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower discuss the immediate press and public reaction to the President's televised address on Southeast Asia. Ziegler reports that the briefing conducted by Henry Kissinger was well-received, noting that the press appeared silenced and impressed by the President's consistency and the speech's emotional conclusion. Nixon emphasizes the importance of standing firm in his policy decisions and ensuring the defense of American servicemen remains a central theme.

Audio

Download MP3 · 2.2 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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

· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Well, how did your people...
I just got some of my family in here at the moment, but what about your people?
They hold themselves, or they're acting like a bunch of damn fools to you?
No, I think I sensed in the briefing that Henry gave after they had read the...
that uh the number of them of course were trying to get themselves back on track because a lot of them were pretty far out on the limb yeah but i think you can sense when something you know significant is happening there's a sort of a silence you sense in the room yeah and i think they they gathered the very clear significance of what tonight meant in other words your consistency and uh
fact that you were carrying through was something you firmly believed in and i think the ending must have shook him a little because they didn't expect that the ending was this person was great fantastic helen thomas helen thomas had missed part of the ending so i had it replayed for and she the reaction to that he had every every person in the country i'm sure just
You know, on the edge of their seat, just in silence, because it was a very, very effective moving thing.
Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Just stand firm.
Yes, sir.
I think the reaction has to be good.
Give them a goddamn inch.
I think it has to be good.
We defended the American serviceman, too.
Yes, sir.
Right?
Okay, boy.
Very effective.
Yes, sir.

NARA Description

On April 7, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 10:49 pm to 10:50 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 001-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 1-32

Date: April 7, 1971
Time: 10:49 pm - 10:50 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler; Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon and Julie Nixon
Eisenhower can be heard in the background.

     President’s previous speech on Southeast Asia
          -Reaction
                -Henry A. Kissinger
                -Ending of speech
                -Helen A. Thomas

Also recorded on April 8, 1971

  • 001-026 10:35 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:35 pm to 10:37 pm.
  • 001-027 10:38 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo, and Manolo Sanchez talked on the telephone from 10:38 pm to 10:45 pm.
  • 001-028 10:45 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:45 pm.
  • 001-029 10:45 PM · 4 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:45 pm.
  • 001-030 10:45 PM · 2 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 10:45 pm.
  • 001-031 10:46 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 10:46 pm to 10:48 pm.
  • 001-033 10:51 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Nelson A. Rockefeller talked on the telephone from 10:51 pm to 10:52 pm.
  • 001-034 10:52 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:52 pm and 11:08 pm.

All 67 conversations from April 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 001-032, April 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/001-032 (accessed October 12, 2026).