Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 248 › Conversation 248-010

Nixon & Ziegler on Vietnam War and William L. Calley Jr.

Wednesday, April 14, 1971 · 3:07 PM–4:20 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation248-010 on Tape 248 (tape position 00:08:05–00:09:50)StartWednesday, April 14, 1971 at 3:07 PMEndWednesday, April 14, 1971 at 4:20 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 248-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the political fallout and public perception surrounding the Vietnam War policy and the recent trial of Lieutenant William L. Calley, Jr. The President expresses interest in analyzing polling data, particularly Gallup results, to gauge public approval of the war. They further deliberate on the logistics of releasing polling information and address potential administrative support regarding legal costs related to the Calley trial.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I'd like to see the approval of the war.
I'd like to see the approval of the war.
I'd like to see the approval of the war.
And they, uh, when they're gone, I think they're not here.
They're from March.
They're going to say these are April crimes.
That's perfectly all right.
It doesn't, what I meant is, uh, to repeat the story that we're going around.
I see, I just think that, uh, not always, you know, not, just the war we're in is probably where it's going to be.
Um, and, uh, we don't need to do that anymore.
Jeff, I think, given what we haven't worked up, maybe we should work something up for the government, which covers the trial fees.
And this latest, this one, the revival and approval of the war, apparently, I don't know if that would be a good idea.
I don't know if Bill could handle that.
I don't know if those guys would share the conscious goals.
I don't know if Bill could share those.
One, two, three, four.

NARA Description

On April 14, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 248-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 248-10

Date: April 14, 1971
Time: Unknown between 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with an unknown person [Ronald L. Ziegler?]

       Polls
           -Approval of Vietnam War policy
                -Timing
                -George H. Gallup
           -Lieutenant William L. Calley, Jr.
                -Trial
           -Approval of war policy

Also recorded on April 14, 1971

  • 042-036 2:13 PM · 3 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:13 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 042-037 3:05 PM · 20 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 3:05 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 248-009 3:05 PM · 19 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 3:05 pm to 3:07 pm.
  • 248-011 3:07 PM · 5 min — 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 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 248-012 3:07 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 248-013 3:07 PM · 3 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 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 248-014 3:07 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm.
  • 248-015 3:07 PM · 27 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 3:07 pm and 4:20 pm.

All 34 conversations from April 14, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 248-010, April 14, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/248-010 (accessed October 3, 2026).