Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 693
Nixon White House Tape 693 (March 24, 1972)
2 conversations · Oval Office · about 2 hr 7 min of released audio
Featuring Nixon, Harris, Osborne, Lisagor, Bailey
President Nixon held a formal press conference in the Oval Office with a large group of journalists to address current domestic and foreign policy concerns. During the session, he discussed his administration's economic initiatives regarding inflation and food prices, defended his school desegregation and anti-busing policies, and addressed controversies surrounding ITT and the confirmation of his Attorney General nominee. Additionally, Nixon provided updates on international affairs, including the military situation in Vietnam, his upcoming trip to the Soviet Union, and ongoing Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT).
President Nixon met with his senior staff, including H. R. Haldeman, Ronald Ziegler, and Charles Colson, to review the performance and content of his recent press conference. They discussed the effectiveness of his responses to various topics, specifically his firm stance on marijuana legalization, his handling of the ITT antitrust controversy, and his efforts to blame previous Democratic administrations for current economic and regulatory problems. The President and his advisors expressed satisfaction with the 'glass houses' rhetoric used to deflect criticism and finalized strategies to continue blaming the middleman for rising food prices.