Nixon White House Tapes — Conversation 683-011
Date: Monday, March 13, 1972 at 2:54 PM
Participants: Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.
Recording device: Oval Office
Source: https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/683-011

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 Do not cite it as authoritative.

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