Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 45 › Conversation 045-056

Nixon, Cox & Ziegler on Watergate scandal and Press relations

Monday, April 30, 1973 · 10:54 PM–11:04 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); White House operator; Nixon, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan); Eisenhower, Julie Nixon; Cox, Tricia Nixon; Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation045-056 on Tape 45StartMonday, April 30, 1973 at 10:54 PMEndMonday, April 30, 1973 at 11:04 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 045-056 ↗

AI Summary

Tricia Nixon Cox initiated a telephone call to Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler to gauge the media's reception following a nationally televised address by President Nixon regarding the Watergate scandal. Ziegler reported that the press responded favorably, particularly noting that the President’s decision to visit the press room personally bolstered his standing. He expressed optimism that the administration could now move past the errors of subordinates and focus on the President’s future leadership objectives.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Trisha's calling Mr. Ziegler.
Thank you.
That's right.
Hello?
I have Mr. Ziegler.
Okay, fine.
Hello?
Yes, hello.
Well, I'm Tricia.
Hi, Tricia.
Hi.
Did you hear it?
Oh, very good.
Wasn't it great?
It really was.
I was really moved.
I was wondering what the press reaction was.
You know, just straight.
We already got a little bit from Billy Graham, but I was wondering what you thought.
I think the president going into the press room afterwards was great.
It was a good reaction to that.
It was a good reaction to what?
The president going into the press room afterwards.
Oh, really?
Did you know that?
No, I didn't know that.
He walked by the press room.
Oh, I heard that he did, but I didn't know the reaction was good to that.
That's interesting.
No, it was very good.
Great.
And then how was the reaction to the speech?
I think very good.
You do?
He stepped up to it, I think most of them think, and they believe him.
That's good.
And as Hank Truitt of Newsweek said, he said...
In many ways, it was eloquent.
It was very difficult for the president to do.
And I think, Tricia, quite frankly, and as you said directly, I think the press, since the difficulty of the decision and the difficulty of the situation, had fairly stepped up to move on.
Good.
That's a good report.
I think, you know, the important thing is that now we do move on.
Right.
And the mistakes that were made by those people around the president, we, you know, forget now.
And he moves on and does what he does.
Right.
Goes on to bigger things.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Good.
I think that's a sense of thanks, Tricia.
Yeah.
Well, thank you.
I really appreciate that.
And I'm going to tell Daddy, okay?
Okay.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.

NARA Description

On April 30, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, Thelma C. ("Pat") (Ryan) Nixon, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 045-056 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 45-56

Date: April 30, 1973
Time: Unknown between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm
Location: White House Telephone
                                                -40-

                    NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

                                                             Conversation No. 45-56 (cont’d)

The President talked with the White House operator. Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon, Julie Nixon
Eisenhower, Tricia Nixon Cox, and unknown persons can be heard in the background.

     Telephone call to Ronald L. Ziegler from Tricia Nixon Cox

Tricia Nixon Cox talked with Ziegler. The President and unknown persons can be heard in the
background.

     Watergate
          -President’s speech
                -Press reaction
                      -Visit to press room
                             -Reaction
                -Veracity
                      -Hank Truitt, Newsweek
                             -Analysis
          -Long-range implications
                -President’s future leadership

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 045-050 10:41 PM · 1 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Adm. Thomas H. Moorer talked on the telephone from 10:41 pm to 10:42 pm.
  • 045-051 10:43 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, Rose Mary Woods, and Henry A. Kissinger talked on the telephone from 10:43 pm to 10:45 pm.
  • 045-052 10:45 PM · 20 sec — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:45 pm and 10:48 pm.
  • 045-053 10:48 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Ronald W. Reagan talked on the telephone from 10:48 pm to 10:50 pm.
  • 045-054 10:51 PM · 2 min — George P. Shultz and President Richard M. Nixon talked on the telephone from 10:51 pm to 10:54 pm.
  • 045-055 10:54 PM · 44 sec — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox, and Edward R. F. Cox talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 10:54 pm and 11:04 pm.
  • 045-057 11:04 PM · 2 min — White House operator, Tricia Nixon Cox, President Richard M. Nixon, and Hobart D. Lewis talked on the telephone from 11:04 pm to 11:06 pm.
  • 045-058 11:07 PM · 2 min — White House operator, President Richard M. Nixon, [Dwight] David Eisenhower, II, and Alexander M. Haig, Jr. talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:07 pm and 11:08 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 045-056, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/045-056 (accessed October 10, 2026).