Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 40 › Conversation 040-066

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Economic policy and Press relations

Wednesday, June 13, 1973 · 11:35 AM–11:36 AM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation040-066 on Tape 40StartWednesday, June 13, 1973 at 11:35 AMEndWednesday, June 13, 1973 at 11:36 AMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 040-066 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinated the messaging strategy for an upcoming televised speech on the economy. The discussion focused on maintaining public momentum following recent diplomatic successes while carefully managing media expectations. Nixon explicitly instructed Ziegler to withhold the full text of the speech from Cabinet members and Congressional leaders prior to the 7:00 pm briefing to avoid last-minute critiques and prevent market volatility.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yes, sir.
Oh, he's interested in Henry's accomplishment?
Oh, yeah, it's moving well.
Oh, I would think so.
My goodness, we shouldn't have to move a thing like that.
No, no, we're not.
Even the jackasses ought to move it.
Oh, sure.
It's moving heavily out of Paris, and I've just been spending time with the network guys and the wires on, you know, the time you've been spending on it and the hard week and so forth and the economy and so forth.
We're about ready to announce the economy to right people.
underneath of this, so the speech tonight at 8.30.
So we have a good day going.
People are thinking and talking about other things.
For a while, yeah.
Yes, sir.
But we can't have many days like this, Ronnie.
Everybody always says, why don't you do something big, you know.
Well, you can go to China once, you can go to Russia once, and you can communicate once, and you can have an economic thing about every year, which is, I mean...
That's the one thing in your own planning that you've got to get through to the people that you can't go out with some grandstand gimmick every doggone day.
No, that's right.
You see what I mean?
But this will all add up to another...
This is something that came at the right time.
I think, Mr. President, even though this is an economic speech, and I wanted to raise this with you, and I will now if I may, we're going to brief at 7.
I think we should provide the text at 7 with a strict embargo.
I told him that we're even going to give the text to the leaders.
Well, I...
We'll give them materials, but I don't think we should give them the text of the speech.
You don't?
No, sir.
The reason for it is so that they have the materials so that when they make up their... Well, we'll tell them that because of the effect on the markets and so forth and so on, that the text will be delivered to them at 7 o'clock.
That's right.
Tell the leaders that, but don't give the leaders or the cabinet the text.
I agree.
Otherwise they'll haggle over it and want to make changes.
That's right.
Give them the basic material and outline, but not the text.
Be sure that that gets to everybody.
The leaders and the cabinet get no text, but the text will be available at 7 o'clock.
Okay, good.
How's that sound?
That's good.
All right.
Good.
And we'll fire away.
Sure.
Okay, thank you.

NARA Description

On June 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 11:35 am to 11:36 am. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 040-066 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 40-66

Date: June 13, 1973
Time: 11:35 am - 11:36 am
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.
                                              -58-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

[See also Conversation No. 445-3]

     Press relations
           -Henry A. Kissinger’s news conference on Vietnam negotiations
                  -Paris
                  -Television networks, wire services
                  -President’s role
           -President’s economy speech
           -[“Big play”]
                               -President’s trip to People’s Republic of China [PRC], Union of
                   Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR], communique, economy speech
           -President’s economy speech
                  -Briefing
                         -Distribution of text
                               -Bipartisan Congressional leaders
                               -Raymond K. Price, Jr.
                               -Effect on markets
                               -Cabinet

Also recorded on June 13, 1973

  • 040-065 11:26 AM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:26 am and 11:33 am.
  • 445-002 11:26 AM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:26 am and 11:33 am.
  • 445-003 11:33 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:33 am to 11:36 am.
  • 040-067 11:36 AM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:36 am and 11:37 am.
  • 445-004 11:36 AM · 7 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 11:36 am and 11:37 am.
  • 040-068 11:37 AM · 24 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. talked on the telephone from 11:37 am to 11:38 am.
  • 445-005 11:37 AM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr. met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:37 am to 11:38 am.
  • 445-006 11:45 AM · 1 hr 40 min — President Richard M. Nixon, J. Fred Buzhardt, Jr., Manolo Sanchez, and unknown person(s) met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 11:45 am to 1:29 pm.

All 95 conversations from June 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 040-066, June 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/040-066 (accessed October 9, 2026).