Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 403 › Conversation 403-025

Nixon & Ziegler on Personnel management and Staffing

Wednesday, January 31, 1973 · 12:24 PM–12:36 PM ET · Old Executive Office Building · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation403-025 on Tape 403StartWednesday, January 31, 1973 at 12:24 PMEndWednesday, January 31, 1973 at 12:36 PMRecording deviceOld Executive Office BuildingSourceNixon Library record for 403-025 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Press Secretary Ronald L. Ziegler to discuss the selection and management of personnel for upcoming administrative roles. The two conferred on the necessity of choosing individuals who could effectively handle significant responsibilities and carry a substantial workload. They concluded by considering the internal dynamics of these prospective appointees, weighing whether professional friction might actually serve as a constructive mechanism for mutual oversight.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript is incomplete. The transcription skipped stretches of speech — roughly 1 minute of this recording (about 47% of it) is represented by only a few words. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the text below; a corrected transcript is queued.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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 wanted you to tell, uh... Mm hmm.
Thank you.
I've never been in the office.
I told you, I'm a student.
And now, there were many ways to select them too, but they've also got to carry a hell of a chunk of it.
They're likely to carry that.
They certainly have to carry that.
They won't worry a little about the fact that they're not best friends with each other.
Maybe they'll watch out for each other.
Maybe they might.

NARA Description

On January 31, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:24 pm to 12:36 pm. The Old Executive Office Building taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 403-025 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 403-25

Date: January 31, 1973
Time: 12:34 pm – 12:36 pm
Location: Executive Office Building

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 43-8]

Also recorded on January 31, 1973

  • 845-001 12:08 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:08 pm to 12:10 pm.
  • 043-008 12:34 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 12:34 pm to 12:36 pm.
  • 043-009 12:36 PM · 14 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:36 pm and 12:38 pm.
  • 043-010 12:38 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan talked on the telephone from 12:38 pm to 12:41 pm.
  • 403-026 12:38 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Manolo Sanchez met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building at 12:38 pm.
  • 403-027 12:38 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Peter J. Brennan met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:38 pm to 12:41 pm.
  • 403-028 12:41 PM · 10 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 12:41 pm and 2:40 pm.
  • 403-029 12:41 PM · 7 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 12:41 pm and 2:40 pm.

All 86 conversations from January 31, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 403-025, January 31, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/403-025 (accessed October 1, 2026).