Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 36 › Conversation 036-060

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Lyndon B. Johnson and Press relations

Monday, January 22, 1973 · 8:03 PM–8:05 PM ET · White House Telephone · 1 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation036-060 on Tape 36StartMonday, January 22, 1973 at 8:03 PMEndMonday, January 22, 1973 at 8:05 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 036-060 ↗ · National Archives Catalog, NAID 417194563 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the drafting of a formal statement regarding the death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. They deliberate on the specific phrasing of the tribute, ultimately deciding to remove a sentence about achieving peace to avoid potential controversy or distraction during upcoming media coverage. Nixon directs Ziegler to finalize the statement, noting that its release should be timed strategically alongside public announcements.

Audio

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NARA Description

On January 22, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 8:03 pm to 8:05 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 036-060 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 36-60

Date: January 22, 1973
Time: 8:03 pm - 8:05 pm
Location: White House Telephone

Ronald L. Ziegler talked with the President.

       Lyndon B. Johnson’s death
            -The President’s statement
                  -Wording
            -Ziegler’s conversation with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Mr. President, I have Mr. Ziegler calling you.

All right.

There you are.

Mr. President, I'm sorry to bother you, sir.

In reading this last paragraph, Mr. President, I had the reaction that by saying he was so profoundly dedicated and which we shall soon achieve, I had a feeling that that

would be focused on the lead and almost at its peace.

I checked it with Haig to get his view just before...

I would just strike out, soon achieve.

Well, there are two ways to do it.

One would be to say, I am confident we will soon achieve, which is more a prediction than it is a flat statement of fact.

Why don't you just leave it out?

Al's feeling is, and I tend to agree with him, is that... Just leave it out.

I don't think you need it.

This paragraph would be better to say perhaps at the time of the speech...

because tomorrow night there's going to be, you know, a lot of rundown on LBJ and so forth.

And then we can – and there will be probably a little criticism on his role and so forth.

But then at the time of the announcement, particularly if there's a 24-hour slip, then we could hit him with a statement like this.

Okay, fine.

So I'll leave it out.

Fine, sir.

Also recorded on January 22, 1973

036-058 7:29 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 7:29 pm to 7:31 pm.
036-059 7:38 PM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles G. ("Bebe") Rebozo talked on the telephone from 7:38 pm to 7:40 pm.
398-016 7:56 PM · 35 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 7:56 pm and 8:15 pm.
398-017 7:56 PM · 19 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 7:56 pm and 8:15 pm.
402-012 8:22 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:22 pm and 8:47 pm.
402-013 8:22 PM · 17 sec — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:22 pm and 8:47 pm.
402-014 8:22 PM · 9 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 8:22 pm and 8:47 pm.
402-015 8:22 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 8:22 pm and 8:47 pm.

All 64 conversations from January 22, 1973 →

Nixon & Ziegler on Haldeman and Press Relations April 12, 1973 · 1 min
Nixon phone call with Colson on Pentagon Papers and Lyndon B. Johnson June 17, 1971 · 7 min
Nixon phone call with Kissinger on Pentagon Papers and Lyndon B. Johnson June 17, 1971 · 5 min
Nixon phone call with Hearst on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Foreign Policy October 16, 1972 · 4 min
Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Lyndon B. Johnson and Press relations February 13, 1973 · 2 min
Nixon, Ziegler & Colson on Pentagon Papers and Lyndon B. Johnson June 17, 1971 · 23 min

Cite this conversation

Conversation 036-060, January 22, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives (NAID 417194563). Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/036-060 (accessed October 29, 2026).