Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 19 › Conversation 019-073

Kissinger & Ziegler on Vietnam War and Public Relations

Tuesday, January 25, 1972 · 8:55 PM–10:03 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsKissinger, Henry A.; Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation019-073 on Tape 19StartTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 8:55 PMEndTuesday, January 25, 1972 at 10:03 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 019-073 ↗

AI Summary

Henry Kissinger and Ronald Ziegler discussed public reaction to President Nixon's recent Vietnam speech, specifically focusing on a favorable account from an Indiana academic. Ziegler shared how the speech successfully shifted the perspective of a former skeptic, while Kissinger questioned the necessity of his upcoming press briefing in light of the positive momentum. Ultimately, Ziegler insisted that the briefing remain on the schedule to maintain the administration's communication strategy.

Audio

Download MP3 · 3.4 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 33% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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).
He said, I want you to know that I'm in tears.
three former students of mine came back and called me.
He said, one, he said, I was... You didn't know the guy?
No, no, no.
I just happened to pick up the phone.
And he said, one of the people, he said, I was one of the people who, who over the last few months has in some degree distrusted, you know, what the administration was doing.
He said, and I also am a person who
When the president was elected, he felt that he could be one of the greatest presidents he had.
And I don't confess to that.
He said, I think that, he said, I don't give a damn about the elections.
He said, I voted for, he said, I voted for the president.
He said, before that, I voted for Kim.
But he said, the president is a sincere man.
And he said, I want you to tell him that.
He said, everything he is doing is right.
He said, I was one of those people who was a backbiter over the past months.
He said, but I didn't have the information that the president had.
That's, you think, the typical reaction?
He said, I hope everything works out the way he wants it to.
He said, I'm not in the habit of calling the White House.
He said, I've called the White House on two occasions.
He said, once was on the Cali trial, and he said, once is tonight.
He said, I've traveled all over the world, and he said, one of the greatest things is that I can pick up the telephone and get to the White House in 30 seconds.
You know, his voice was choked with tears.
But this is a teacher at St. Joseph College in Indiana who was really moved by it.
But the reaction is very different.
Ron, I'm wondering, with the reaction this good, why I should do another briefing tomorrow.
What do you mean?
Oh, absolutely, you've got to.
Well, let's talk about it in the morning.
No, there's no question about it.
You've got to.
We're committed to it.
Okay, well, I'll talk to the president.
Yeah, well, you've got to do the briefing tomorrow.
Okay.
I will do it.
Yeah, okay.

NARA Description

On January 25, 1972, Henry A. Kissinger and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 019-073 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 19-73

Date: January 25, 1972
Time: Unknown between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Henry A. Kissinger talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Reaction to the President's previous speech on Vietnam
          -Ziegler's conversation with Ralph Marini of St. Joseph’s College, Indiana
                -The President's efforts
                -Marini’s voting record
                      -John F. Kennedy
                -Calls to White House
                      -Lt. William L. Calley, Jr.
          -Kissinger's briefing, January 26, 1972

Also recorded on January 26, 1972

  • 019-064 8:55 PM · 15 sec — Henry A. Kissinger, President Richard M. Nixon, and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 9:21 pm.
  • 019-065 8:55 PM · 8 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Anatoliy F. Dobrynin talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-066 8:55 PM · 9 sec — the White House operator and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-067 8:55 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-068 8:55 PM · 18 sec — the White House operator and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-069 8:55 PM · 3 min — Henry A. Kissinger, White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Michael M. Marshall, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-070 8:55 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.
  • 019-071 8:55 PM · 2 min — Henry A. Kissinger and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 8:55 pm and 10:03 pm.

All 102 conversations from January 26, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 019-073, January 26, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/019-073 (accessed October 12, 2026).