Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 653 › Conversation 653-009

Nixon & Ziegler on Kurt Waldheim and United Nations

Monday, January 24, 1972 · 11:53 AM–11:55 AM ET · Oval Office ·2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President);  Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation653-009 onTape 653 (tape position 02:08:40–02:10:49)StartMonday, January 24, 1972 at 11:53 AMEndMonday, January 24, 1972 at 11:55 AMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 653-009 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler met to finalize briefing points regarding an upcoming meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim. The discussion focused on establishing a clear public stance on U.S. support for the UN, while also addressing concerns regarding the organization's budget and the need to manage public perceptions of government spending. Additionally, the pair coordinated logistics for the President's travel, specifically addressing media presence during plane arrivals and an upcoming trip to Florida involving dock strike issues.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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Oh, sir.
Oh, sure.
How about the United Nations?
We're all for it.
He's a nice father.
Did George get his little state?
Oh, yeah.
George worked for his son on the bench.
All right.
All right.
He was just, he was up today, you know, he was slowing down.
It's enthusiasm.
The question is that, I don't know what I heard up there, but the hell, most people, it's all this kind of shit.
You know, it's not fun.
It's all, I don't know.
But, most people want to see the work of Dan, I guess.
Okay, I'm very excited to see how much they know that plan that actually went out.
Oh, sure.
I noticed that the President was there.
That doesn't matter.
Then I realized, well, they probably haven't been informed that we're going to get that.
Oh, we're told.
But they always know when the President's playing.
Yeah.
The, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,
Did they have their dormitories?
Oh, yes, they had their dormitories.
They always did.
Doctor?
Sure.
They always did.

NARA Description

On January 24, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:53 am to 11:55 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 653-009 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 653-9

Date: January 24, 1972
Time: 11:53 am - 11:55 am
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

       The President’s schedule
            -Meeting with Kurt Waldheim
                  -Press briefing
                         -US support of United Nations [UN]
                  -Waldheim
                  -UN budget
                         -George P. Shultz
                         -John B. Connally
                         -Presidential statement
                         -Public’s views
                               -Spending
       Presidential plane
             -Landing at Washington National Airport
                   -Press
                          -The President’s conversation with unknown person in hangar

       Press
               -Trip to Florida
                     -Dock strike

Ziegler left at 11:55 am.

Also recorded on January 24, 1972

  • 653-008 11:04 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Henry A. Kissinger, Kurt Waldheim, William P. Rogers, George H. W. Bush, Emil ("Bus") Mosbacher, Jr., White House photographer, and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:04 am to 11:53 am.
  • 653-010 11:55 AM · 35 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:55 am and 11:59 am.
  • 653-011 11:55 AM · 58 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 11:55 am and 11:59 am.
  • 653-012 11:59 AM · 34 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Frank L. Rizzo, John D. Ehrlichman, White House photographer, Jacqui Miller, John Caracciolo, Thomas Mulloney, Henry Schoenfeld, Gene Harris, John Katz, Lou Zacharias, Andre Mitchell, Dan Lynch, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:59 am to 12:32 pm.
  • 653-013 12:32 PM · 25 sec — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:33 pm.
  • 653-014 12:32 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:32 pm and 12:33 pm.
  • 653-015 12:33 PM · 13 sec — unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:33 pm and 4:55 pm.
  • 019-041 1:05 PM · 12 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:05 pm and 1:51 pm.

All 54 conversations from January 24, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 653-009, January 24, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/653-009 (accessed September 18, 2026).