Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 683 › Conversation 683-011

Nixon & Ziegler on Busing policy and Press relations

Monday, March 13, 1972 · 2:54 PM–3:02 PM ET · Oval Office

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation683-011 on Tape 683 (tape position 04:43:21–04:51:32)StartMonday, March 13, 1972 at 2:54 PMEndMonday, March 13, 1972 at 3:02 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 683-011 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinate the administration's messaging strategy regarding upcoming policy decisions on busing and public inquiries into executive branch personnel. They agree that Nixon will address the busing issue via a formal message to Congress rather than a broadcast address to maintain procedural flexibility. Additionally, they strategize on how to dismiss media speculation and "backstage gossip" concerning the perceived rivalry between Secretary of State William Rogers and Henry Kissinger, emphasizing the President's authority over his own cabinet.

Audio

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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 04:43:21 into the tape and ends around 04:51:32.

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.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.
4:44:40Ron Taylor has requested to see you for a couple of minutes.
4:44:44Right now.
4:45:32Yeah, sure.
4:45:33John, earlier, wants to leave as much flexibility as possible, as loose as possible.
4:45:41I said I am going to do that.
4:45:44By saying such things, the President over the weekend made the decision in terms of, in general terms, the direction his recommendations will take.
4:45:52Now, he's directed the staff today as to how they should pursue to prepare.
4:45:57the materials consistent with that direction he has now set.
4:46:01He doesn't want to say a message to Congress.
4:46:03Well, he was a little antsy on that, but I checked with Schultz, and Schultz feels there's no problem with a message to Congress.
4:46:09Say a message to Congress, that will be the lead then.
4:46:13And when will it go up?
4:46:15Well, we don't know yet, but it will go up perhaps later this week or sometime next week.
4:46:19It's still, depending on the work that is done.
4:46:24But to leave a little looseness in it.
4:46:33Okay, fine.
4:46:40Well, he just wanted to make sure that in case something develops over the week that we wear loose as possible.
4:46:46So I...
4:46:48I'll handle it that way.
4:46:49Now, they'll ask you today whether or not you definitely made a decision not to do a television thing or a radio thing.
4:46:54I'm going to say yes.
4:46:55They intend to make it in the form of a message to Congress.
4:46:59Right.
4:47:00Absolutely.
4:47:01So I'll rule that out.
4:47:05Right.
4:47:06Okay, good.
4:47:09All right.
4:47:10Yes, sir.
4:47:14I called her up and I told her you were going out.
4:47:21Actually, it went pretty well in the briefing because I told Warren, I said, indicate that I called you to the President's office.
4:47:27We wanted to, you know, you had just informed me that I wanted to get it out of the briefing.
4:47:32So he said that he was going to call me to the President's office.
4:47:37So it worked fine in the briefing.
4:47:40It's a small act.
4:47:42Are you expecting any questions about Rogers' history?
4:47:47I may get something, and I just know it over my mind whether or not I should say something about it.
4:47:53I can answer all the questions.
4:47:54I should be able to smile and say that I've had many.
4:48:00You could say that that's a...
4:48:19But in terms of my attitudes, I think you can get across the fact that I have seen so much, the President has said that he's seen so much of this kind of backstage gossip about what's going to happen.
4:48:47administration of the full Democratic Party in my five years in the White House.
4:49:11And it's a
4:49:16It causes very little discussion.
4:49:17Well, I think that I, I'm just going to be bored if I see the tree, but it's, uh, I think so much of it that I'm, uh, so much of it that I, uh, that it's just a, that it's just an old story.
4:49:40It's an old story that we, uh,
4:49:43And particularly as the election rolls near, I expect a lot more of them.
4:49:47There is a... Now I have long said the present views of the members of the press are the way of their opinions.
4:50:11is who ought to lead the administration.
4:50:13The President reserves the right to decide who will be in charge of the system.
4:50:24If I could refer to him at that point.
4:50:26The President is the right.
4:50:27He has the confidence of the Secretary of State.
4:50:30He has the confidence of the Education Secretary.
4:50:33Whenever he does not have that confidence, he will say so.
4:50:36But in the meantime, we urge you all to have a merry time.
4:50:41I mean, this is a, I have to sort of say that you understand, but if this is what you understand, you thought that you didn't have to write this.
4:50:50That's the way I treated you.
4:50:51You didn't have to write it.
4:50:56called it backstabbing.
4:50:57There's just nothing to it.
4:50:59And then I kind of, to me, it's sort of an old story.
4:51:02There's no relation to your views.
4:51:05Well, all right.
4:51:06Yeah, I don't try to stop their speculation, but I'll make, but I'm sure you're right.

NARA Description

On March 13, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:54 pm to 3:02 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 683-011 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 683-11

Date: March 13, 1972
Time: 2:54 pm - 3:02 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

     Press briefing
           -Busing statement
                 -John D. Ehrlichman
                 -Possible message to Congress
                 -George P. Shultz
                 -Wording to press
                 -Timing of decision
                 -Message to Congress
           -Pandas
                 -Crosby S. Noyes
                       -Call from the President
                 -Gerald L. Warren
           -Possible questions
                 -William P. Rogers
                 -Henry A. Kissinger
                 -Response to Rogers-Kissinger situation
                       -Quality of story
                       -Election
                       -Press opinions
                             -Composition of the Administration
                                  -The President’s decisions
                                  -Secretary of State
                                  -Kissinger
                       -Quality of story
                       -Secretary of State
                             -Foreign policy team
                       -Stewart J.O. Alsop’s column
                             -The President’s view
                                  -Kissinger
                                         -Possibility as Secretary of State
                                  -Rogers

Ziegler left at 3:02 pm.

Also recorded on March 13, 1972

  • 683-010 2:50 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 2:50 pm to 2:54 pm.
  • 683-021 2:54 PM · 53 sec — Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 2:54 pm and 3:02 pm.
  • 683-012 3:02 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:02 pm and 3:05 pm.
  • 683-013 3:05 PM · 8 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, Grover E. Murray, John R. Bradford, Richard K. Cook, John E. Nidecker, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:05 pm to 3:12 pm.
  • 683-014 3:12 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:12 pm and 3:15 pm.
  • 683-015 3:15 PM · 26 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Otto E. Passman, Henry A. Kissinger, Richard K. Cook, and White House photographer met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:15 pm to 3:41 pm.
  • 683-016 3:41 PM · 16 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 3:48 pm.
  • 683-017 3:41 PM · 3 min — President Richard M. Nixon and John D. Ehrlichman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:41 pm and 3:48 pm.

All 72 conversations from March 13, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 683-011, March 13, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/683-011 (accessed October 3, 2026).