Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 326 › Conversation 326-018
Nixon & Ziegler on 1972 Presidential Election and Televised debates
Friday, March 24, 1972 · 1:16 PM–1:17 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building
AI Summary
President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss the strategic implications of avoiding televised presidential debates during the 1972 election cycle. Nixon expresses concern that agreeing to debates would inadvertently provide major television networks and opposing candidates with millions of dollars in free airtime. Ultimately, the President characterizes his refusal to debate as a tactical move to deny his political rivals a significant media advantage.
- 1972 Presidential Election
- Televised debates
- Media strategy
- Campaign tactics
- Network television
Audio
Download MP3 (part 1) · 111.9 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 61.1 MB
This conversation has not yet been cut into its own clip, so the player above contains the full tape segment shared with neighbouring conversations. It begins about 02:16:34 into the tape and ends around 02:17:34.
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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.
Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data
NARA Description
On March 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:16 pm to 1:17 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 326-018 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 326-18 Date: March 24, 1972 Time: 1:16 pm - 1:17 pm Location: Executive Office Building The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler. [See Conversation No. 22-15]
Also recorded on March 24, 1972
- 022-013 12:54 PM · 18 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 12:54 pm to 1:12 pm.
- 326-016 12:54 PM · 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:54 pm to 1:12 pm.
- 022-014 1:12 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:12 pm and 1:16 pm.
- 326-017 1:12 PM · 2 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 1:12 pm and 1:16 pm.
- 022-015 1:16 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:16 pm to 1:17 pm.
- 326-019 1:24 PM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 1:24 pm to 2:00 pm.
- 022-016 1:28 PM · 51 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, White House operator, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman talked on the telephone from 1:28 pm to 1:29 pm.
- 022-017 1:29 PM · 6 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:29 pm and 2:05 pm.
Cite this conversation
Conversation 326-018, March 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/326-018 (accessed October 1, 2026).