Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 574 › Conversation 574-010

Nixon, Ziegler & Bull on Press Relations and Racial Politics

Friday, September 17, 1971 · 12:01 PM–12:05 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Bull, Stephen B.Conversation574-010 on Tape 574 (tape position 03:08:36–03:15:07)StartFriday, September 17, 1971 at 12:01 PMEndFriday, September 17, 1971 at 12:05 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 574-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler and aide Stephen Bull to coordinate responses to potential press inquiries following the President's recent news conference. The discussion focused on maintaining a firm stance against political speculation regarding a Black vice-presidential candidate and clarifying U.S. economic relations with Japan. Additionally, the group finalized arrangements for the President to pose for photographs at the White House bowling alley.

Audio

Download MP3 (part 1) · 168.0 MB ·Download MP3 (part 2) · 167.9 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 03:08:36 into the tape and ends around 03:15:07.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Timestamps are positions within the full tape recording.
3:09:38I may get one of our enemies out there to question along this line.
3:09:55Ron, going back to President's remarks in press coverage yesterday on the black vice president, does the president feel that a black vice president could win now?
3:10:07The President will not discuss, and you as the press secretary will not discuss, will not go into the... Will not add to what you said.
3:10:18Will not add to what I said.
3:10:20The President's statement is complete.
3:10:23I'm not going to go on.
3:10:24I don't want you to get into the political side.
3:10:27I'm simply... You could simply say that what the President said was that he believes that...
3:10:35that to suggest to suggest that the American people is that the American people will go down.
3:10:53Both are prejudices.
3:11:00Both are prejudices.
3:11:07I think it's said so well.
3:11:09I do, too.
3:11:09I just wanted to get a feel of it.
3:11:11I was going to say, well, the main thing is I didn't want to get any more political questions on the president.
3:11:18I thought it was an answer.
3:11:19I think that's the best way to go about it.
3:11:21I agree.
3:11:21I just wanted to get your feel on it.
3:11:24I thought it was an answer.
3:11:27Is that right, President?
3:11:28Yes.
3:11:30But I don't want to say that, because that's, I think, I think what I should say to the President, I'm not going to get into it.
3:11:41The President said yesterday that he doesn't believe that the American people would or should vote against any man because of race, creed, color, period.
3:11:51that attempt to suggest that the American people, and it's not, will be motivated primarily by prejudice.
3:12:07I think it's a misjudgment.
3:12:11I don't know that this will come up.
3:12:13I just know that we did it.
3:12:16I didn't want to go that far.
3:12:22Yes, sir.
3:12:22Don't cover it with the press if they ask you to do it.
3:12:27Don't cover it.
3:12:27But all who asked the question, who was there?
3:12:31Who was?
3:12:32Who said after the conference?
3:12:34Jim Beacon.
3:12:35Jim Beacon, the senator.
3:12:36Jim Beacon, the senator.
3:12:37What is it?
3:12:38What I was referring to is Japan's argues overseas customer.
3:12:43Right.
3:12:44We are Japan's biggest customer.
3:12:45We buy 30% of all of Japan's actual goods.
3:12:49They are our biggest overseas customer.
3:12:50Right.
3:12:51As a matter of fact, with Canada, you could buy something just because of that.
3:12:59It comes very close to the...
3:13:00I don't think there'll be a follow-up.
3:13:03You might just, if you, Deacon is no good, but you just might see how big it is overseas.
3:13:09East gets wider, though, if I walk up to it.
3:13:11Yeah, that's just so that the money...
3:13:13What I'm saying is that Japan is our biggest overseas customer.
3:13:16I think that's bigger than any customer in Europe and bigger overseas.
3:13:20In the Americas, it wasn't related to Asia, it wasn't related to China.
3:13:26We are, of course, Japan's biggest customer.
3:13:29About 30% is the biggest customer.
3:13:31All of Japan's exports are sold to the United States.
3:13:38Well, it seems that they have to, I know this was a good interview, they seem to have quite a
3:13:45Well, they're very positive, aren't they?
3:13:49They were, yes, they did.
3:13:51I mentioned a couple people that...
3:13:58The sword was out, and she hit back in it so fast, no one saw it.
3:14:03That was beautiful.
3:14:05And that's their general reaction to it.
3:14:07Well, there were stories this morning.
3:14:09Yes, ma'am.
3:14:10In fact, the way to get in and out is by murder at the end.
3:14:20The way to get out is not by murder, too.
3:14:23Right.
3:14:24Right.
3:14:29I guess, whatever I meant.
3:14:31I'm sorry, Pam, I think she should have stayed up tonight.
3:14:32Well, I told you what several of them said, and she was a little late, but I don't know how that happened.
3:14:38I didn't want to take that picture here.
3:14:39Well, there's some discussion about you going over the bowling alley with the child.
3:14:47Thank you.
3:14:47Thank you.
3:14:48Thank you.
3:14:50Thank you.
3:15:01Wait on some time.
3:15:03We'll take a picture and then walk over to the bowling alley.
3:15:06If you're going to have a crust over there, you better get it out of the way.
3:15:12No, not the sills.
3:15:13No, we're going to bring it up.
3:15:15All right, we're going to bring it up.
3:15:19All right, we're going to bring it up.
3:15:24All right, we're going to bring it up.

NARA Description

On September 17, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:01 pm to 12:05 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 574-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 574-10

Date: September 17, 1971
Time: 12:01 pm - 12:05 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Announcement
         -Additional event
              -Bowling

     Press relations
           -Edmund S. Muskie's statement on a Black Vice President

          -Possible questions directed at Ziegler
          -Black Vice President
               -Potential candidacy
               -Propriety of White House response on issue
               -Preferences of electorate
          -Black President
          -Voting prerogatives
          -Creed or color
          -US people
               -Voting for Presidents
     -Trade
          -Canada
               -Ziegler’s possible responses
               -Jim Deakin of St. Louis Post-Dispatch
                     -Japan
                           -US position
                           -Overseas
                                 -Customer
                           -As US customer
                     -Canada
                           -Japan compared to Canada
                           -Overseas relations
                     -Japan
                           -Overseas customer
                                 -Percentage
                           -Exports
                                 -US

The President’s news conferences of September 16, 1971
     -Press reaction
          -Peter A. Lisagor
          -Ziegler’s comments
                -Story
          -Stories
     -Vietnam
          -Ngo Dinh Diem
          -Nguyen Van Thieu

The President's schedule
     -Upcoming meeting with bowlers
          -Pictures

                      -Bowling alley

Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 12:01 pm..

     The President's schedule
          -Group
                -Size
          -Picture
                -White House photographer [Oliver F. (“Ollie”) Atkins]
          -Bowling alley
          -Press
                -Location
          -Photographs
                -Slides
          -Executive secretary
                -Introduction

Ziegler and Bull left at 12:05 pm.

Also recorded on September 17, 1971

  • 574-006 11:29 AM · 13 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, and the White House operator met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:29 am to 11:41 am.
  • 574-007 11:41 AM · 27 sec — Alexander P. Butterfield and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:41 am and 11:43 am.
  • 574-008 11:41 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, unknown person(s), and Kay Gardella met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:41 am and 11:43 am.
  • 009-061 11:43 AM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Kay Gardella talked on the telephone from 11:43 am to 11:45 am.
  • 009-062 11:45 AM · 8 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 11:45 am and 4:28 pm.
  • 574-009 11:45 AM · 15 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Jack F. Kemp, Alexander M. Haig, Jr., and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:45 am to 12:01 pm.
  • 574-011 12:05 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Aida L. Gonzalez, Edwin R. Luther, Mrs. Edwin R. Luther, Frank K. Baker, Mrs. Albert E. Crowe, Mabel Marrs, Harold Davis, John Meek, Michael Wilson, Henry C. Cashen, II, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:05 pm to 12:14 pm.
  • 574-012 12:14 PM · 3 min — Alexander P. Butterfield and United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:14 pm and 12:34 pm.

All 48 conversations from September 17, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 574-010, September 17, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/574-010 (accessed September 26, 2026).