Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 21 › Conversation 021-090

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on busing and press relations

Thursday, March 16, 1972 · 10:27 PM–10:29 PM ET · White House Telephone

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation021-090 on Tape 21 (tape position 03:21:06–03:23:02)StartThursday, March 16, 1972 at 10:27 PMEndThursday, March 16, 1972 at 10:29 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 021-090 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler coordinated the communication strategy for an upcoming speech regarding school busing and a proposed constitutional amendment. They discussed the technical logistics of the broadcast, including lighting and delivery, while also strategizing on how to handle potential press reactions. Additionally, the pair touched upon the ongoing political fallout surrounding the ITT controversy.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.8 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 71.1 MB

This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 03:21:06 into the tape and ends around 03:23:02.

Transcript (AI-generated)

No transcript is available yet for this conversation. The recording may contain no audible speech, or it may not have been processed.

NARA Description

On March 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 10:27 pm to 10:29 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 021-090 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 21-90

Date: March 16, 1972
Time: 10:27 pm - 10:29 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Press relations
           -Busing speech
                 -Wire leads
                 -Moratorium
                 -Delivery
                       -Lighting
                 -Moratorium
                 -Constitutional amendment
           -Reaction
           -International Telephone and Telegraph [ITT]
           -Morning press conferences
           -Busing

Also recorded on March 17, 1972

  • 687-001 9:42 PM · 37 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Mark I. Goode, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 9:42 pm and 10:20 pm.
  • 021-091 10:29 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:29 pm and 10:31 pm.
  • 021-092 10:31 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:31 pm to 10:38 pm.
  • 021-093 10:40 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, and [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II talked on the telephone from 10:40 pm to 10:49 pm.
  • 021-094 10:57 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 10:57 pm to 11:07 pm.
  • 021-095 11:07 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:12 pm.
  • 021-096 11:12 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.
  • 021-097 11:12 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at 11:12 pm.

All 55 conversations from March 17, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 021-090, March 17, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/021-090 (accessed October 3, 2026).