Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 20 › Conversation 020-025

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on National Prayer Breakfast and Media relations

Wednesday, February 2, 1972 · 2:04 PM–2:06 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation020-025 on Tape 20 (tape position 00:48:57–00:51:04)StartWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 2:04 PMEndWednesday, February 2, 1972 at 2:06 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 020-025 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler discussed the media reception of the President’s recent remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, noting positive coverage on television and radio despite limited attention from the Washington Post and NBC. The conversation transitioned to the administration’s welfare reform strategy, specifically regarding an upcoming press conference by Elliot Richardson. Nixon emphasized framing the current legislative progress as a victory that reflects long-term administration efforts and fiscal constraints rather than a defeat.

Audio

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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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, sir.
I was wondering, I noticed a little of that, but you were mentioning the prayer breakfast.
What was the reaction among your friends in the press on that?
Well, very good.
They write some good stuff?
Well, it didn't move.
It didn't play heavily on the press, but the TV was good last night.
They moved it in TV.
Right.
Two of the networks used it last night.
Interestingly enough, NBC did not.
But they used it last year, didn't they?
They were the only ones to use it in 1970 and 71.
That's not a big story.
Well, I thought it was.
The wires moved it well.
They did.
I didn't see, so it would play out in the country, I think, quite well.
Right.
The post didn't, you know, do too big on it.
It wouldn't matter, really.
Yeah, that's right.
But the radio was good, and the TV was good last night, I thought.
The radio, too, right.
So I thought, particularly your quote on the side of God, toward the end, was very powerful and played quite heavily.
All right.
Right, right.
I think on this welfare reform, we probably have that ready by tomorrow.
That'll be a good one to get the hell out of the way.
Yeah.
John tells me Richardson's having a press conference at 10 o'clock in the morning.
Yeah.
You understand.
Don't let anybody drive you off to the point there that
that we're all for it, and we think this is a defeat.
Hell, this is a hell of a victory.
We're fighting for it, and for two and a half years, and the Congress did, so we've taken half a loaf.
Right.
I'm going to lay a little groundwork on that this afternoon, too.
Two and a half years we've been working for it.
What we want to do is get it more to its center.
And then we're trying to get motion, and we've been working in all fields, right?
Right.
That's the line we're going to use.
Actually, I'm just delighted it's going only this far.
Right.
Because basically that's all we can afford.
Right.
Okay, Ron.
Okay, sir.
Right.

NARA Description

On February 2, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:04 pm to 2:06 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 020-025 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 20-25

Date: February 2, 1972
Time: 2:04 pm - 2:06 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 319-17]

     Prayer breakfast
          -Reaction of press
                -News summary
                -Television coverage
                      -National Broadcasting Corporation [NBC] lack of coverage
                           -1970 and 1971 coverage
                -Wire service coverage
                -Washington Post
                -Radio and television coverage
                -Quote on God

     Welfare reform
          -Elliot L. Richardson press conference
                -John D. Ehrlichman
                -Administration position
                      -Congress
          -Cost

Also recorded on February 2, 1972

  • 020-024 2:00 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:04 pm.
  • 318-015 2:00 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:04 pm.
  • 318-016 2:00 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:00 pm and 2:04 pm.
  • 318-017 2:04 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:04 pm to 2:06 pm.
  • 318-018 2:06 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 2:06 pm and 2:09 pm.
  • 020-027 2:09 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 2:09 pm to 2:13 pm.
  • 318-019 2:09 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 2:09 pm.
  • 318-020 2:09 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:09 pm to 2:13 pm.

All 71 conversations from February 2, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 020-025, February 2, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/020-025 (accessed October 23, 2026).