Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-209

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Vietnam War and Prisoners of War

Tuesday, February 27, 1973 · 12:35 PM–12:40 PM ET · White House Telephone · 3 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation043-209 on Tape 43StartTuesday, February 27, 1973 at 12:35 PMEndTuesday, February 27, 1973 at 12:40 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-209 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler reviewed Ziegler’s recent press briefing concerning the Vietnam ceasefire and the release of American Prisoners of War (POWs). They discussed the importance of emphasizing North Vietnamese violations of the Paris Agreement to counter media narratives that disproportionately blamed South Vietnam. Nixon and Ziegler decided to maintain scheduling flexibility for a potential future presidential press conference, potentially aligning it with the upcoming visit of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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which is thicker sir well yes sir how'd you get along well fine we did it just the way uh right it was discussed the the question sure came about the south vietnamese uh not meeting up to the the agreement and i made it clear i was separating the matter before us now which is the pow is being released in accordance with the agreement and then said that we were
adhering to the agreement, and we have used our maximum influence, you know, on others, but I said it would be incorrect to conclude that the point of the question is related but focused only on the South Vietnamese side, as statements from the South have already indicated, in other words, making it clear that the North Vietnamese were involved in violations, too.
Well, the point is, though, that the violations of the ceasefire, I hope this has got across, that doesn't
I mean, they don't release the prisoners.
Absolutely.
That was the overall theme of the briefing.
The briefing is contingent only on our withdrawal.
That's right.
And I made that over and over.
And I read to them Article 4 and Article 6 of the protocol, which clearly states it's released at a rate no slower than the rate of withdrawal for South Vietnamese and U.S. prisoners.
Remember, as I told you, that what our American press will want to do is to put the blame on the South Vietnamese.
I see.
Well...
get out, which we assume they will, these bastards will be out on another limb, won't they?
Yes, they sure will.
And I hope they are.
The AP bulletin says the White House today accused Hanoi of violating a prisoner agreement with the United States and called upon the North Vietnamese to release immediately more American POWs.
And you got in the point about the Paris Agreement?
Absolutely.
Good.
Good.
Good.
Good deal.
And it was certainly better that I didn't do it.
Absolutely.
Because that would have escalated it enormously.
I think we just handle it right here.
Now, what we will do is, the more I think about it, is that we'll analyze the situation tomorrow morning.
And if it's still in flux, we may not want to use the big gun yet.
Right.
But I will hold Friday also, see.
All right.
So I'm holding Friday because that would still be a good day to do it, you see, at the conclusion of the Meyer meeting.
Right.
Don't you agree?
Yes, sir.
I think we should stay flexible.
So we'll stay either Wednesday or Friday.
I'll keep both the 11 o'clocks open.
Okay, good.
Okay, fine.
Thanks, sir.

NARA Description

On February 27, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 12:35 pm to 12:40 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-209 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-209
                                               -120-

                   NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                         Conversation No. 43-209 (cont’d)

Date: February 27, 1973
Time: 12:35 pm - 12:40 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 415-21]

       Ronald L. Ziegler’s press conference
            -Vietnam settlement
                  -South Vietnam
                  -Prisoners of War [POWs]
                  -Ziegler’s responses
                  -Violations
                        -South Vietnam
                        -North Vietnam
                  -US troop withdrawal
                        -Return of POWs
                        -Henry A. Kissinger
                  -Associated Press [AP] wire story
                  -Ziegler’s comments to press

       The President’s schedule
            -Possible Presidential press conference
            -Golda Meir

Also recorded on February 27, 1973

  • 415-018 12:31 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:31 pm to 12:32 pm.
  • 415-020 12:31 PM · 13 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 12:31 pm and 12:35 pm.
  • 043-208 12:32 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:35 pm.
  • 415-019 12:32 PM · 15 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 12:32 pm and 12:35 pm.
  • 415-021 12:35 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:35 pm to 12:40 pm.
  • 415-022 12:40 PM · 22 sec — 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 12:40 pm and 2:10 pm.
  • 415-023 12:40 PM · 15 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 12:40 pm and 2:10 pm.
  • 415-024 12:40 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 12:40 pm and 2:10 pm.

All 56 conversations from February 27, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-209, February 27, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-209 (accessed October 1, 2026).