Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 467-010
Date: Friday, March 12, 1971 at 8:48 AM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/467-010

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite it as authoritative.

[0:00] Mr. President, they should have noted this in the interview.
[0:12] They had to work all night last night to move it across the country for Sunday papers because the feature sections of the, you know, papers out there.
[0:22] I don't care what's in it.
[0:25] I just want to be sure that nobody breaks the environment.
[0:27] And don't take any of that crap and the effect on...
[0:29] I could do another pool on that when I have the next restaurant.
[0:50] I could not.
[0:50] I mean, I'm not gonna have an extra guy.
[0:51] We're gonna have just the ones we want in here.
[0:53] None of their business, right?
[0:56] in this town that you know better than I, there are a lot of
[1:06] emotional, selfish, self-centered bitches of women who call themselves the National Women's Press Corps.
[1:13] Sure.
[1:14] And when someone else gets something that they feel they didn't get, they don't care about the communications you gave them.
[1:22] You gave them the... You played the whole thing.
[1:23] You played the whole thing.
[1:24] You got the whole thing.
[1:25] You weren't in the room.
[1:25] You weren't in the room at all.
[1:26] That's exactly right.
[1:27] So therefore, they create a little less appropriate time somewhere someday.
[1:32] I'm going to...
[1:33] No, no they won't.
[1:39] Of course not.
[1:43] That's going to happen, but they don't.
[1:45] They're going to always put the needle into the press secretary.
[1:50] That's fine.
[1:51] But they can't.
[1:53] They don't have a complaint.
[1:55] that would reflect on the press.
[1:57] But they can't.
[1:59] American people, so what?
[2:02] That's one of the stories.
[2:04] You cannot, you could not have that kind of interview with him.
[2:09] There'd be screaming left and right.
[2:10] And that's the reason you had to say something.
[2:13] And he covered everybody all the time.
[2:14] And he hit her by the head.
[2:15] It didn't all get in.
[2:17] They come off looking bad here.
[2:20] The press come off looking bad here.
[2:22] Get in that story.
[2:26] Now, the reason I'm so strong on the other thing, I want Howard Smith to have the first crack at it.
[2:41] That's why we've got to insist.
[2:42] I know NBC, and they'll try to run some of the crap out of that.
[2:44] You know, the Barbara Walters stuff, I don't want any of that stuff.
[2:46] None of it used.
[2:47] I've talked to you.
[2:47] It's got to be used, and it's got to be understood.
[2:48] The other thing is this.
[2:51] I don't want any of it used out of context.
[2:52] See?
[2:52] And they'll take something out.
[2:55] If they don't use it, she runs the whole thing.
[2:57] That's why I gave her the whole time.
[3:02] She said, well, we're going to use the two hours.
[3:04] It'll take 40 minutes.
[3:05] I said, all right, I'll give you 40 minutes.
[3:08] And I took the whole 40 minutes, which means it's hard.
[3:09] But Ron, if you give them any chance to use one bed or another, it's not fair, see?
[3:14] I just talked to Barbara Walters before I got in here.
[3:17] They will not use anything on it.
[3:24] But they will not use any of the interview on any of their new shows.
[3:28] They will not use excerpts of it for monitor radio, you know, on Sunday.
[3:32] That's turned off.
[3:33] It will be run in its entirety, in sequence, on the Today Show, only on my channel.
[3:41] All right, fine.