Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 13 › Conversation 013-058

Kissinger & Ziegler on Melvin Laird and Media relations

Monday, November 1, 1971 · 3:55 PM–3:56 PM ET · White House Telephone · 29 sec

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation013-058 on Tape 13 (tape position 02:06:29–02:07:00)StartMonday, November 1, 1971 at 3:55 PMEndMonday, November 1, 1971 at 3:56 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 013-058 ↗

AI Summary

Henry Kissinger and Ronald Ziegler coordinate logistics for an upcoming photo opportunity involving President Nixon and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. Kissinger confirms the President's departure time and provides specific positioning instructions for Ziegler to ensure he is properly placed on the President’s right side. This brief exchange serves to synchronize staff movement to facilitate official media coverage.

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.7 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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
Hello?
Mr. Ziegler.
Hello?
Ron?
Yes, Henry.
I'm in the President's office, and he wanted you to know that he's getting ready to leave here and walk down with Ladd.
Right.
Tell him that's about four minutes.
Okay.
I mean about three minutes until I get him out there and position him.
Okay.
Don't laugh there, Henry, now.
Don't what?
You'll be there, too.
You walk on his right side.
Okay.
Yeah.
Thank you.

NARA Description

On November 1, 1971, Henry A. Kissinger and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 3:55 pm to 3:56 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 013-058 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 013-058

Date: November 1, 1971

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

Time: 3:55 pm - 3:56 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 302-32B]

     President's schedule
           -Laird
           -Photographers
                 -Kissinger

Also recorded on November 1, 1971

  • 013-056 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 302-031 2:47 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:47 pm to 2:49 pm.
  • 302-032 2:54 PM · 1 hr 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Melvin R. Laird, Stephen B. Bull, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:54 pm to 4:04 pm.
  • 013-057 2:55 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:55 pm and 3:55 pm.
  • 610-001 4:04 PM · 1 hr 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Henry A. Kissinger met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:04 pm to 5:08 pm.
  • 610-002 5:08 PM · 21 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at 5:08 pm.
  • 610-003 5:08 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:08 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 013-059 5:18 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 5:18 pm and 5:34 pm.

All 31 conversations from November 1, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 013-058, November 1, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/013-058 (accessed October 25, 2026).