{"conversationCode":"549-018","tapeNumber":549,"conversationNumber":18,"identifier":"37-wht-conversation-549-018","startDateTime":"1971-07-28T18:54:00.000Z","endDateTime":"1971-07-28T18:58:00.000Z","startDate":"28-Jul-1971","startTime":"2:54 PM","endDate":"28-Jul-1971","endTime":"2:58 PM","dateCertainty":"certain","timeCertainty":"certain","participants":"Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.;","description":"On July 28, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:54 pm to 2:58 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 549-018 of the White House Tapes.","locationCode":"OVAL","recordingDevice":"Oval Office","latitudeEstimated":38.8974,"longitudeEstimated":-77.0374,"chronCode":1,"chronRelease":"First Chronological Release","chronReleaseDate":"5-Oct-1999","aogpRelease":null,"aogpSegment":null,"lastModified":"2015-07-27T17:04:10.235Z","findingAid":"Conversation No. 549-018\n\nDate: July 28, 1971\nTime: 2:54 pm - 2:58 pm\nLocation: Oval Office\n\n       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542\n\nThe President met with Ronald L. Ziegler; this recording begins at an unknown time after the\nmeeting is in progress.\n\n     Congressional ceremony\n          -George H. Mahon\n               -[Forename unknown] Simon\n\n     Conservatives\n          -Patrick J. Buchanan\n                -The US-PRC initiative\n                       -Opposition from the Right\n                           -PRC perspective\n          -National Review\n          -Response\n\nZiegler left at 2:58 pm.","filename":["549-018.mp3"],"tapeStart":"03:47:12","tapeEnd":"03:50:30","participantsList":["Nixon, Richard M. (President)","Ziegler, Ronald L."],"prevCode":"549-017","nextCode":"549-019","transcript":[{"start":3.96,"end":6.12,"text":"They forgot it."},{"start":6.14,"end":6.28,"text":"See ya."},{"start":20.7,"end":30.84,"text":"No, it's a good line."},{"start":30.86,"end":39.34,"text":"I thought it was fine."},{"start":39.32,"end":41.74,"text":"Looks good too."},{"start":42.06,"end":42.64,"text":"Big crowd."},{"start":42.68,"end":43.4,"text":"A big crowd."},{"start":43.42,"end":47.16,"text":"A crowd and very responsive and enthusiastic."},{"start":47.4,"end":49.81,"text":"I didn't see any."},{"start":49.83,"end":55.17,"text":"Every time you get down there for a year, it's been crowded."},{"start":55.19,"end":55.67,"text":"A year and a half."},{"start":55.69,"end":60.06,"text":"Very responsive."},{"start":60.08,"end":60.5,"text":"Very."},{"start":60.52,"end":63.86,"text":"As a giant."},{"start":63.88,"end":65.16,"text":"So that's cool and all."},{"start":65.18,"end":66.64,"text":"Well, that combination of a lot of other things, I think, but definitely."},{"start":66.66,"end":67.36,"text":"But anything else that cools a lot."},{"start":67.39,"end":67.58,"text":"Sure does."},{"start":68.05,"end":80.42,"text":"If the right wing is not managed that way, managed for you, I suppose, you're going to drag us tomorrow."},{"start":80.44,"end":80.69,"text":"I don't care."},{"start":80.72,"end":81.18,"text":"You can't imagine that."},{"start":81.2,"end":81.62,"text":"Let me tell you what."},{"start":81.64,"end":82.06,"text":"We're going to check."},{"start":82.08,"end":82.8,"text":"I'm serious, sir."},{"start":82.82,"end":83.38,"text":"We want Sporak on the right."},{"start":84.27,"end":89.58,"text":"Right."},{"start":89.7,"end":103.63,"text":"And realistically, it's a very small group over there, but they're very open."},{"start":104.72,"end":115.74,"text":"I don't, whatever the National Review does, one of those, whatever it is."},{"start":115.76,"end":132.1,"text":"In other words, what I'm saying is that the conservative group is not small, but I think the vocal group would be not too large in numbers because they didn't want this to be a sign."},{"start":132.12,"end":132.22,"text":"Yeah."},{"start":132.24,"end":132.96,"text":"You're all, you're all set up wrong."},{"start":132.98,"end":133.81,"text":"I don't think we're going to do anything."},{"start":133.82,"end":134.65,"text":"I don't think we're going to do anything."},{"start":135.34,"end":145.76,"text":"We're not announcing that."},{"start":145.78,"end":146.31,"text":"We're not announcing that."},{"start":146.33,"end":146.85,"text":"We're not announcing that."}],"aiSummary":{"text":"President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler discuss managing conservative opposition regarding the administration's burgeoning initiative with the People's Republic of China. Ziegler assesses the potential for backlash from right-wing figures and publications like the National Review, noting that while vocal critics exist, they represent a relatively small segment of the political spectrum. Nixon concludes that the administration should avoid proactively addressing these critics, opting instead to maintain a firm stance against the anticipated political fallout.","topics":["US-PRC relations","Conservatism","Public relations","Political opposition","National Review","Richard Nixon"],"generatedAt":"2026-04-06T23:32:19.816Z"},"topicSlugs":["us-prc-relations","conservatism","public-relations","political-opposition","national-review","richard-nixon"],"audioDurationSec":158,"audioFiles":[{"file":"549-018.mp3","bytes":6319330,"durationSec":157.85,"bitrate":320275,"missing":false}],"audioIsShared":false,"audioProbedAt":"2026-09-18T02:19:51.011Z","findingAidSource":"nixonlibrary.gov subject log (2024-05), reslice-v2","findingAidUpdatedAt":"2026-09-18T08:43:59.347Z","audio":["https://nixon.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/audio/549-018.mp3"],"url":"https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/549-018","nixonLibraryUrl":"https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/549/conversation-549-018","license":"Public domain (U.S. Government work). AI-generated fields (transcript, aiSummary) are provided as-is without warranty."}