Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 23 › Conversation 023-035

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Vietnam War

Wednesday, April 19, 1972 · 2:11 PM–2:16 PM ET · White House Telephone · 5 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation023-035 on Tape 23StartWednesday, April 19, 1972 at 2:11 PMEndWednesday, April 19, 1972 at 2:16 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 023-035 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler consulted on how the administration should respond to an upcoming statement from Ivy League university presidents condemning the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam. Nixon decided to maintain a low-key approach, opting for a "no comment" strategy to avoid granting unnecessary relevance to the protesters. They also discussed coordinating with Vice President Agnew and staffer Charles Colson for potential counter-messaging, while agreeing that maintaining a posture of confidence was the administration's best strategy.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello.
Yes, sir.
Ron, I'm going to come over, as you know, to do that little ceremony with the chief of police.
Right.
And I thought probably we'd better go over any questions you have now, because you've got a brief at 3 o'clock, don't you?
Right.
I didn't think I'd brief at 3.
I thought I'd let Jerry do it.
I see.
I want to stay fairly low-key today, but...
Development just came up here.
I was mulling around in my mind.
Jerry Warren got a call from McGill, President of Columbia University, who's a good personal friend of his.
He indicated that the strong, solid presidents of most of the Ivy League schools are going to issue a statement today at 3 o'clock condemning the bombing of North Vietnam.
And my...
My judgment says no comment.
My instinct is to attack it, but I just think we're probably better off just no commenting it.
I think so, yeah.
Well, they've been doing this before.
Sure they have.
I'm not concerned about it.
Yeah, what ought to happen, I think, the only thing I would say should happen is that somebody should just say, are they going to condemn the invasion?
As a matter of fact, Jerry told me, he said to McGill, he said that,
You have nothing in there about the violence and destruction that the North Vietnamese...
The invasion.
You've got to use the word invasion.
That's right.
Are you condemned the invasion of the South or the North?
What did McGill say to that?
Jerry said the only thing you could say is no.
No.
That's right.
You know.
Right.
I wouldn't be sure.
Well, you're...
Don't be concerned about it.
No, I'm not concerned about it.
You mean you just didn't want to, I don't want the press people to think we're running away from anything.
No, no, I don't either.
But I think just a cold no comment would be better off than fermenting it.
That's right, that's right.
There's enough.
We're strong enough.
The boys are doing, you see, with Rogers and Laird, both going on with the, apparently the boys in the Senate and House are doing reasonably well.
Right.
And I just leave it right there.
I think so.
And let these damn Ivy League presidents get out on their limb.
Right.
Which is cold, no comment.
I'll let Warren do that at 3.
Yeah, yeah.
But I don't.
You don't want to leave the impression around that we're afraid to be briefing at this point.
You don't think that's it, do you?
No, no.
I mean, with the press.
Sometimes you don't brief at 3 o'clock, too, don't you?
That's right.
I'm just going to say I'm in a meeting.
Yeah.
that's good particularly because of your 245 thing yeah i mean was out today with a lot of news yeah now i'll go on a 245 you'll go on a 245 and i just don't think i should go out there at three o'clock and can't be bad around seek out a new lead that's right and if you want me to i will no no no no i'm all for it my view is i wouldn't even break them at all but you know how i feel about them right but i just uh but i just want you to know i'm not afraid of what you can say i mean you
But I'd just as soon not make any more news today.
Let it be made downtown.
I mean, we're out there.
We're in good shape.
We're in perfect shape.
60 minutes of other stuff.
That's right.
Tomorrow they can cover the pandas, and we've got some Catholics coming in, and that'll be all we'll give them tomorrow.
That's enough.
Well, they had a good day yesterday, Chris.
They had that damn, they made their $60 with that tennis team, didn't they?
The ping pong team, yeah.
Yeah, sure.
That table tennis, as they like to call it.
So they were satisfied.
Don't worry about them.
We're doing extremely well.
Let me tell you, we're doing awful well.
We're in a perfect position.
Just tell everybody, you know, to just be very confident.
Yes, sir.
That's the posture we're presenting.
And also, I believe the Ivy League presidents are out of step right now.
I think they're about a year late, you know.
Right.
What do you think?
Well, they've said this before, but I mean they're continuing the same crap, you know.
They said they're all going to do this.
I don't know whether they ought to be condemned by somebody.
That is something.
I'll have to call Chuck and see if he can get something going.
Colson, maybe this is disgusting or something like that.
Well, I don't know who the hell we can get to say it.
Well, Agnew's going to tee off Friday.
Maybe he can...
Whip them up a little.
Touch them up a little.
I'll talk to Chuck.
Okay.
Although, maybe it's just as well they ignore the bastards, I must say.
Why stir them up?
I don't know what we get by giving them the target.
It gives them a little more.
I just think we pay no attention.
We don't consider them any more worth commenting upon or paying attention to than an editorial in the New York Times or the Washington Post.
They really aren't relevant.
As a matter of fact, if you could get that point across and tell Scali to get that across or somebody in the background, well, we aren't going to comment upon that.
We believe that what they say just really isn't relevant anymore.
Right.
They've lost touch with the real situation.
I mean, they fail to see what the real target here that is the responsibility rests with.
Okay.
Okay, good.
I think you're right.
Good luck.
Okay, sir.

NARA Description

On April 19, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:11 pm to 2:16 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 023-035 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 23-35

Date: April 19, 1972
Time: 2:11-2:16 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See also Conversation No. 331-30]

     The President's meeting with Jerry V. Wilson
          -Review of briefing

     Ziegler's schedule
          -Gerald L. Warren

     Vietnam
          -Bombing
              -Statement of Ivy League presidents
                    -William J. McGill of Columbia University
                          -Warren
                    -Statement of condemnation of US bombing of North Vietnam
                          -Administration response
                    -North Vietnamese invasion
                          -Statement of college presidents
                          -Press
                    -Administration's statement
                          -William P. Rogers
                          -Melvin R. Laird
                           -Warren
                           -Ziegler briefing
                                -Recent news
                                       -John D. Ehrlichman
                                -Timing

     News reports
         -Pandas
         -Catholics
         -Table tennis team
               -News value

     Vietnam
          -Show of confidence
          -Ivy League presidents
                -Objections to bombing
                -Counterattack
                     -Charles W. Colson
                     -The Vice President
                     -Administration comments
                           -Possible response
                -John A. Scali

Also recorded on April 19, 1972

  • 023-034 1:49 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 331-027 1:49 PM · 9 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 331-028 1:49 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 331-030 2:11 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:11 pm to 2:16 pm.
  • 023-036 2:16 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:16 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 331-031 2:16 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 2:16 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 023-037 2:17 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:17 pm to 2:18 pm.
  • 331-032 2:17 PM · 47 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:17 pm to 2:18 pm.

All 56 conversations from April 19, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 023-035, April 19, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/023-035 (accessed October 1, 2026).