Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 39 › Conversation 039-019

Nixon, Eisenhower & Ziegler on POW dinner and Press coverage

Friday, May 25, 1973 · 1:39 AM–1:43 AM ET · White House Telephone ·3 min

ParticipantsWhite House operator;  Eisenhower, Julie Nixon;  Ziegler, Ronald L.;  Nixon, Richard M. (President);  Cox, Tricia NixonConversation039-019 onTape 39StartFriday, May 25, 1973 at 1:39 AMEndFriday, May 25, 1973 at 1:43 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 039-019 ↗

AI Summary

Julie Nixon Eisenhower contacted Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler to gauge media sentiment following a dinner honoring former prisoners of war, with President Nixon and Tricia Nixon Cox present for the discussion. They reviewed the positive press coverage surrounding the President’s speech, specifically focusing on the favorable reaction to his remarks on December 1972 bombing operations and national security. Ziegler confirmed that the event received strong television coverage and effectively portrayed the President’s interactions with the attendees.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Hello?
Mr. Ziegler's on the line for the president.
Thank you.
Ron?
Hi, Julie.
Hi, Ron.
I wanted to know what the press's reaction was to the evening.
Do you have any reactions to tell us?
You know, were they really upset when the men applauded the bombing statement Daddy made, how necessary that was?
Well, I think the reaction was good, Julie.
You do?
The whole evening, yes.
Yeah, I think so, too.
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah, I think so.
And I think there's going to be a lot of positive press out of it, don't you?
There's going to be a lot written out of this.
There's going to be a lot that's going to be, you know, part of the whole, you know, sense of things that people will have.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Well, then the press did not seem unhappy.
In other words, they weren't unhappy with the evening because it was going well.
You didn't get that sense.
No, I didn't.
Yeah.
No.
Well, good.
I think they, you know, I think they recognized both with the State Department and the Knight that they may have over-graduated some things, but I think they're kind of stunned back into reality.
Good.
Did they notice that Daddy moved around from table to table and all that?
Absolutely.
Good.
Sure.
Good.
Did they notice him standing today in line?
Yeah.
Yes.
Well, that's great.
Good.
There's a lot of good press coming out of this, and there will be.
Good.
I'll tell him.
We'll get some, you know.
negative shots.
You don't have to say that.
But overall, to be quite frank with you, Julia, it was a good day.
Daddy wanted to know if you felt that the speech today got good play.
I felt it did.
Well, you tell them on TV tonight, on every network, they showed the tremendous applause when they walked in.
Yeah.
They showed the perfect line about the national security.
National security, right.
And then they showed the standing ovation and the overwhelming standing ovation.
Standing ovation, right.
By the
by the crowd, and it was a good, hard... And there were about four or five minutes, weren't there?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I thought it was, too.
It was very good coverage.
Very good, because they covered the important lines.
There's a speech.
And they showed the reaction, too.
Yeah, right.
They don't always do.
That's true.
That's true.
Well, are you going down to Key Biscayne?
Yes.
Yeah, well, we'll see you down there.
Okay.
It was a good day.
I thought it was, too.
I thought so.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay, bye.
Bye-bye.

NARA Description

On May 25, 1973, White House operator, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Ronald L. Ziegler, President Richard M. Nixon, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone from 1:39 am to 1:43 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 039-019 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 39-19

Date: May 25, 1973
Time: 1:39 am - 1:43 am
Location: White House Telephone

The White House operator talked with Julie Nixon Eisenhower.

       Incoming telephone call

Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked with Ronald L. Ziegler. The President and Tricia Nixon Cox can
be heard in the background.

       Former prisoners of war [POWs] dinner
             -Press coverage
                     -President’s statement concerning December 1972 bombing
                                              -20-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                     (rev. February-2011)

                                                            Conversation No. 39-19 (cont’d)

                     -State Department reception
                     -President’s activities
                             -Receiving line
                     -President’s speech, May 24
                             -Television [TV] coverage
                                    -Applause
                                    -National security
                                    -Ovations

       Ziegler’s schedule
              -Key Biscayne

Also recorded on May 25, 1973

  • 039-012 12:17 AM · 18 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-013 12:17 AM · 19 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-144 12:17 AM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:17 am and 12:57 am.
  • 039-014 12:57 AM · 1 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Paul W. Keyes talked on the telephone from 12:57 am to 12:58 am.
  • 039-015 12:58 AM · 17 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at 12:58 am.
  • 039-016 12:58 AM · 26 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and Julie Nixon Eisenhower talked on the telephone from 12:58 am to 1:25 am.
  • 039-017 1:25 AM · 3 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, and Paul W. Keyes talked on the telephone from 1:25 am to 1:27 am.
  • 039-018 1:27 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and Tricia Nixon Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:27 am and 1:39 am.

All 25 conversations from May 25, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 039-019, May 25, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/039-019 (accessed September 18, 2026).