Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 331 › Conversation 331-032

Nixon & Ziegler on Anti-war movement and Public relations

Wednesday, April 19, 1972 · 2:17 PM–2:18 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 47 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation331-032 on Tape 331 (tape position 04:24:30–04:26:06)StartWednesday, April 19, 1972 at 2:17 PMEndWednesday, April 19, 1972 at 2:18 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 331-032 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss strategies to address media coverage of anti-war protests on university campuses. Nixon proposes a rhetorical counter-attack that highlights the perceived hypocrisy of demonstrators for criticizing the United States rather than the enemy. The pair decides to have a political surrogate, such as Barry Goldwater, deliver this critique to the public to effectively challenge the protestors' stance.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Yeah.
I thought of a good line to handle this other than maybe you wouldn't.
It was just to say, well, gentlemen, I'm really in the news.
What would be the reason for the presence of these universities instead of condemning the United States, condemning the enemy of the United States?
What would be the reason?
That would be certainly like a man biting a dog.
A man biting a dog.
I think it's worth saying.
Well, give me that quote for somebody.
You see, that's such a good quote.
I haven't had somebody up there like Goldwater or somebody.
All right, fine.

NARA Description

On April 19, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:17 pm to 2:18 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 331-032 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 331-32

Date: April 19, 1972
Time: 2:17 pm - 2:18 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 23-37]

Also recorded on April 19, 1972

  • 023-034 1:49 PM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 331-027 1:49 PM · 9 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 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 331-028 1:49 PM · 36 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at an unknown time between 1:49 pm and 2:11 pm.
  • 023-035 2:11 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:11 pm to 2:16 pm.
  • 331-030 2:11 PM · 4 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 2:11 pm to 2:16 pm.
  • 023-036 2:16 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 2:16 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 331-031 2:16 PM · 6 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 2:16 pm and 2:17 pm.
  • 023-037 2:17 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 2:17 pm to 2:18 pm.

All 56 conversations from April 19, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 331-032, April 19, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/331-032 (accessed October 1, 2026).