Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 34 › Conversation 034-099

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Vietnam War and Henry Kissinger

Saturday, December 16, 1972 · 3:25 PM–3:28 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation034-099 on Tape 34StartSaturday, December 16, 1972 at 3:25 PMEndSaturday, December 16, 1972 at 3:28 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 034-099 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 647841802 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon consults Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler regarding Henry Kissinger’s public demeanor during a recent television briefing on Vietnam negotiations. The two discuss the importance of managing public expectations for a lasting peace and assess the likely domestic response to renewed U.S. bombing in North Vietnam. Nixon and Ziegler agree to maintain their course of action, dismissing concerns that Hanoi’s predictable outcry or negative media coverage from figures like David Brinkley will significantly alter public support for the administration's endgame.

Audio

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NARA Description

On December 16, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 3:25 pm to 3:28 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 034-099 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 34-99

Date: December 16, 1972
Time: 3:25 pm - 3:28 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 382-9]

       Vietnam negotiations
            -Henry A. Kissinger briefing, December 16, 1972
                 -Kissinger’s demeanor
                        -Ziegler’s current viewing on TV
                              -Channel 9 [WTOP]
                        -Work with Ziegler
                              -Public expectations
                 -News coverage
                 -Public expectations
                        -US troops
                              -Number casualties
                        -Media coverage of war
                 -Message
                        -Avoiding short peace after long war
            -US bombing
                 -Hanoi reaction
                 -News coverage
                 -Public reaction
                        -Compared to David Brinkley, media and press coverage
                                                 -82-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

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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This is Ziegler.
Yes, sir.
Oh, uh, give me a little, a little ramp up on, uh...
Another thing today, was Henry in good psychological form?
Yes, he was very good.
I'm watching him now.
He's on Channel 9.
But I did not ask you when he was here.
He came over well.
He was in good foot.
Did he come off the wayward?
Because we really worked him this time.
Yes, sir.
He was not defensive?
Not at all.
As a matter of fact, when we were going over stuff, he started to use words, you know, in this whole habit pattern of saying...
At one point he was embarrassed or something because of the fact that people standing outside were expecting something to be happening inside.
I said, Henry, don't use those words.
He agreed.
He said, you know, Ron, for the first time in the last month or so, he said, I really feel good about things and at peace with myself and so forth.
But he was really positive, came over well today.
they're playing about, as you indicated.
Sir, the fact that we expect it's going to be, and as a matter of fact, let the people get solved it down a little in terms of this.
You know, I don't think most people expect the damn thing to be worked out so soon anyway, from what I've heard.
I think the main thing is to get their hopes up, but the main thing is that you have to keep in mind, Mr. President, there are only 24,000 troops there.
and the impact of this zero casualties right and the impact of this war across this country now um but not the war itself i mean it's just how are we going to settle the damn thing that's right i mean there's
how it's settled, and I think my overriding thing is it's settled in the right way, and that's what's coming over.
Henry said that party is making, well, the short piece and the long war and so forth, that sort of thing.
That's the kind of thing we want to get through.
Yeah, that's the type thing I think we want to hit again, just a general summary form on the day if we do something, if we have to say something about the other thing.
What is your view on the other?
Well, we'll see.
It'll make a...
Henry is, of course, much more concerned about that than I am, but they're going to wake up the fact that we're hitting the north again, because Hanoi will yell about it.
Well, as we discussed, Mr. President.
I'm not sure that makes that much difference.
As we discussed, we should expect that.
Hanoi's going to scream, of course, and it's going to be, you know, played on the news and so forth.
What's your reaction about it here?
My feeling is that we just cannot react to that and proceed.
I agree.
That's what we'll do.
But the public reaction, I don't think it's going to be too damn exciting.
The public reaction out in the country will not be anything close at all to...
You know, the Brinkley's have been, the reaction will get on television and in the columns.
I think the public reaction will be, well, he's moving in a way he thinks he has to to get it over with.
Right.
Okay, got that, sir.

Also recorded on December 16, 1972

  • 382-009 3:25 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:25 pm to 3:28 pm.
  • 382-010 3:28 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:28 pm and 3:45 pm.
  • 382-011 3:28 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:28 pm and 3:45 pm.
  • 382-012 3:28 PM · 29 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 3:28 pm and 3:45 pm.
  • 034-100 3:45 PM · 2 min — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 4:27 pm.
  • 034-101 3:45 PM · 14 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 4:27 pm.
  • 034-102 3:45 PM · 25 sec — H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 3:45 pm and 4:27 pm.
  • 382-013 3:45 PM · 1 hr 35 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, White House operator, Ronald L. Ziegler, Manolo Sanchez, unknown person(s), Anne L. Armstrong, and Lawrence M. Higby met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:45 pm to 5:25 pm.

All 41 conversations from December 16, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 034-099, December 16, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 647841802). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/034-099 (accessed November 2, 2026).