Nixon, Ziegler & Haig on Vietnam War and Media relations

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I'll get Hank to call in any time.

Come in.

— 1 min 20 s with no transcribed speech —

Hello.

Yeah.

Hello.

Are you in your office?

Oh, well, yesterday, I was just talking to Ron, and I'll give you a buzz in a few minutes.

The House Democrats today voted to announce that the bombing is important in North Vietnam.

They voted 135 to 66, which is pretty consistent with what the floor vote has been on the part of the Democrats in the range of 130.

Well, let's point out.

Did they vote down the strike?

No.

Then, later...

They overwhelmingly voted to add a clause to condemn the North Vietnamese invasion.

I think it seems to be one approach that perhaps we should take as well.

I know that after the Democratic Party and their political caucus this morning decided to condemn action, which was being aimed against the invasion, finally got around to condemning

What brought on the action?

What has brought on the action?

Yeah, what do they do?

What's their alternative?

And offer really no solution to it, except to walk away.

Words are resolutions.

Resolutions and words are very ineffective in stopping.

But I thought I would call attention to the fact that they first condemned action

which was brought about by the invasion.

And then later, they got around to consider.

Isn't that about the vote they've always had?

Well, on the floor, see?

On the floor, whenever there's been a war vote or an anti-war vote on the floor, the Democratic vote has been around 130, 132, 133, something like that.

So you transfer that to the caucus.

And 66 Democrats have normally voted in support.

I just continue to take the high line.

All right.

Anything else on that?

No, I think.

Did he read you at all?

Did he go out and see the press?

Who, Hague?

Hague.

No, no.

Oh, they told me he was with you there.

No, he was in the McCloskey.

We're just saying.

Hague's a very good man to be sure of, as you see.

You should get a chance to talk to your buddies who gave us observations.

Because it gives you a good feel about things going on.

What we're doing at State in defense today is maintaining our posture.

The other side handed notes to the enemy.

Always, never use the word other side again.

Ever.

The enemy.

And I want you to tell McCloskey and Heidenhagen.

that they, this is instructions from the president, they are never to use the term other side again.

Never, never, never.

They're to call it the enemy.

Is that clear?

Yes, sir.

If you say that's order from the president.

Right.

Okay, the enemy and our delegation in Paris, a note saying we should come back to the table and so forth.

And stop the bombing.

So we're going to hit the same negotiating line that we've been taking.

So that's really...

where we stand in terms of what we say today.

And then I will take this on.

I'm tempted to go.

See, Walton's still briefing now.

I'm tempted to go out at the earlier briefing to do this.

I wonder if you could.

Instead of waiting until 3.

No.

If you want to hit it, yes.

Hit it right on the nose.

All right.

I just do my briefing now.

I'll sit in and I'll go to 3 for 3.

Just say you contend this is a, I wish you could give a stronger term.

Well, then the words in resolution are very, very ineffective.

I have started not to try to build up to it.

I would just simply say, well, I have to say that both was predictable.

This is the number that we have.

Second, the resolution is contradictory.

And on the one hand, it condemns the bombing.

On the other hand, military targets North Vietnam, and on the other hand, it condemns North Vietnam's invasion of South Vietnam.

Now they can't have it both ways, because resolutions and words, as we have learned through bitter experience, are very inadequate weapons when it comes to stopping a armed invasion

I think we're on a fairly positive line.

I do too.

How do you feel?

I feel great.

For example, this thing that I mentioned to you yesterday didn't play heavy at all.

Professors didn't play heavy at all.

Played way back in the post.

You didn't get a chance to head it though, did you?

No, and I think our strategy is right on that.

We would have elevated it.

I'll get Ed to grab this again tomorrow.

In the speech.

He's going to speak at the ACP tomorrow.

I think you should grab him on this.

This caucus thing.

Yes, absolutely.

The Panda thing went well.

Did you hear about it?

No, I heard it went very well, yes.

Yes, it would be a nice warm strike.

And I'm glad we did it that way, too, because the ping pong thing got a good play.

Sure.

Two separate stories, now the Panda thing, and the Chinese are playing well, and so forth and so on.

I'm glad we started it earlier than the thing.

That's a good thing, because to allow him once or twice, probably once a week, once a week, to clear away chaff, and you know what I mean, give you a little breather, and get the very substantive stuff, and you should do it in the morning, at the time of the war, so the bastards know that they're going to get something.

What do you think?

It's a good idea.

We talked about it.

If we can't do it early, it's off the schedule.

But he's just kicking my balls.

He can say things that are very, very good.

We'll let you know.

My plan at the moment is to have, I had to, I was saying to my press conference two weeks ago, and then last week, but I couldn't because of the war situation.

for your information, I plan to go Thursday next week.

Good.

Television.

Two days after the primary.

I don't want to go Tuesday night, obviously, which I could do.

That's the night of the Pennsylvania primary.

I don't want to go Wednesday night and let them write what the hell happened there.

But Thursday night, I thought we could go at 7.30.

Good.

I talked to Bob about one thing.

I didn't have a chance to raise him.

And I said, maybe I should give him more than a half hour.

And he said, no, Edith, that you thought I should.

Frankly, it makes a few points.

But in the office, I've given him more than a half hour quite often.

But out there, I'm probably going to go out and tell him the next troop announcement would be perfect to tell you.

Because I've got to do it sometime.

And I'm probably holding him to the very brief statement.

Yeah, I'm going to second that thing with the questions.

Give them perhaps a little feel of what the situation is in Vietnam, what we can continue to do in a very firm way, and then let the sun and the witches come at me.

Most of the questions will be on the floor, and I'll sit right here.

That's perfectly all right.

Oh, it's not.

Next Thursday, it has occurred to me too, might be the day that the committee will have to vacuum and clean these.

So then, if the committee is active,

and the committee has made its decision on that.

What do you think?

Is that the way to handle it, by any chance?

No, I think it is.

Flanagan, I think, if this thing goes well today, it's going to clear.

I'm sure it will.

If you could do one thing this weekend,

You, of course, are aware that something's going on.

Yes, sir.

But you should know nothing about it.

Right.

I would like, if you can, so that you're in a position to let Warren take calls.

In other words, I'd a little rather... See, Warren, I mean, you know a little bit too much because of what you surmise.

Warren didn't know anything.

And so we'll...

They're all going to be up there.

However, I want to be very precise as to what should be said.

I don't want to warn them.

If a question comes up, you've got to tell Haig to follow the same line.

They ask the doctor, can't you say, I'm sorry he isn't here today?

And they say, where is he?

I don't know.

Can General Haig help you?

General Haig should take all questions.

That's the worst you can try.

Saturday, just don't answer the goddamn phone in the NSC office.

See, my mom, you don't do that.

Now, if the question then arises in the ANC office, they can say that, well, I don't know whether you raised the question.

I think you have to.

Because Henry has told the people he was going out tonight with that he had to go to meetings with the president's staff and so forth.

I don't want you to say that he's there.

I think all that you want to say that the President is having a group of his senior staff people at Camp David this weekend for a series of meetings.

And the group includes

Dr. .

Just state it that way.

It is happening.

Mr. will be there as a part of the judgment.

He won't be there at all.

But I want to get in a position where you don't say he is there on a certain day.

We can handle this, all right?

But I'm not going to say anything until you leave.

The normal procedure, the way that happens is the wires start coming up.

Is the president going to camp in Idaho?

He hasn't decided yet.

I think he will, however.

He said, he told me earlier today he wanted to go up there and get a lot of work done with some of the senior staff guys.

He's leaving there in the mid-month.

When you leave, I say, well, the president's going up there to work at Camp Taylor over the weekend.

Senior staff members will be there to work with him during the weekend.

During the weekend.

That's right.

Who are they going to be?

Well, Kissinger is going to work with them during the weekend, Alderman, and early, during the weekend.

Yeah, during the weekend.

And then just stop them.

Just stop right there.

Then they say, well, who's in there?

Well, let's say Heisman.

They can't.

They know they can't.

Nobody's in the damn grounds.

See?

I mean, you don't know who the hell's around.

Because he might be in my place.

He might be in his own cabin in the rest.

Now, see, what we'll do then is,

when we're, you know, working stories and so forth.

When the president stopped morning working in his office and, you know, I think he saw earlier than a couple of the other guys.

Yeah.

And then just leave it loose, and I think we can work hard.

Oh.

Then Sunday.

Yeah.

See, the Sunday story, which is when they get pressured, and then we'll be back Sunday.

That's when we can say, the president worked in the morning in his office and spent two hours.

I hate him.

I'm a senator.

Not necessarily.

My point is that you can say that, one thing you can say that I think will give a little build-up to what the president is, the only thing I am going for, is he's working on an article, a major article on Florida policy for U.S. News World Report.

How that's up to you.

A little danger there.

I think U.S. News would have a little trouble with that.

No, but it's going to come right after this.

I have to finish it before the summit.

And then deliver 12 actions.

And it's going to take a month.

They'd have to say that they plan to have it done.

Right.

And then we'd have requests in here from every other organization.

I should say we're working on speeches.

I'd say you're working on foreign policy as it relates to the situation in Indochina, the upcoming summit.

Yeah, foreign policy.

Domestic matters.

All the tax...

You didn't commit today to the group that was here on the tax credit, did you?

Walton implied, and I'll be asked whether or not

I am committed to seeking and obtaining relief for the non-public schools.

The tax credit is a very active option that is being considered, along with others.

The final test will be constitutionality, judgment on constitutionality,

is very likely to put it as a very active option that is being considered.

And the president is now having that staffed out from the standpoint of constitutionality.

Put it that way.

Constitutionality and also the practicality of getting it passed in the Congress.

He wants to do something for it.

But his commitment is complete that we've got the true tax credit for other classes.

What others are being considered wrong, I'm not going to go into that.

The secretary of ATW is studying it, and the administration department is studying it, and the president is, and they're making recommendations on it.

But the tax option, the credit option, is a very active option.

Actually, I have two options.

I have four.

I don't know if you should be asking, but this is the time to look at it.

Don't knock down the wall.

No, I'm not going to.

I just want to get a feel for it.

You'll see that they made a very impressive case for the tax credit.

I said the only question is, and the major question is the Constitutional question, which we're now having examined.

The President is very impressed with the case of the meditate on the tax credit.

It's a very active option.

Okay.

Being actively considered.

Okay, good.

One other thing.

Bob has left.

That's why I raised it.

Bob Hope is in town doing the photographer's dinner tonight.

And he called me just before I came in here

And he said he'd very much like to stop by just to say hello.

Could we arrange that just prior to the S&E?

Maybe he has rehearsal at 3, but we can maybe do it at 4.30.

Whenever it fits his schedule, sure.

Well, he has rehearsal at 3, so we can arrange it.

What would be better for him?

He said after rehearsal sometime.

How long is his rehearsal for?

Probably an hour.

I'll call him and work it out with him.

Yeah, I tell him I'd be delighted to see him.

I'd like to get him.

I should.

What time would it be, Patrick?

Frankly, it'd be to make it 4 o'clock.

4 o'clock.

Because I have a half hour.

4.15.

Right.

4.15 is fine, but could he come right after rehearsal?

Come on.

And I can tell him he's good.

He's

He's a great man.

And he says he had some good lines tonight.

And he asked if you were going to be there.

And I said, no, we weren't going to be signing.

We wanted to adjust it.

I mentioned this to Bob, the fellow from the New York Times, of Tames, and weeping in my office about the fact that you're not coming and so forth.

And I jarred him.

I was going to suggest to drop by, maybe.

But I really don't think, if you see hope in here, I don't think, I think if you have decided not to go to all of the dinners, you should.

I like George Staines and all the rest.

I like the photographers.

But I'm just frankly, I'm never going to go to any of them again.

I mean that.

I want you to seriously know that whatever happens, of course,

I'm true to the press forever, but the election doesn't come out.

The election does come out.

I'm not going to go to the gridiron.

I'm not going to go to the White House Correspondents.

I'm not going to go to the Women's Press Correspondents.

I'm not going to do that ever again.

I'm true to God and everything else.

They can get a woman out of me.

Screw them.

You should understand.

It's never done us any good.

That's what my point is.

It just hasn't done us any good.

If it did us any good, I'd go.

I have been armed.

I have been gracious.

Unless, and I don't think the rest, all we get is a tear in the ass.

The photographers aren't generally friendly.

I might do that once.

But I've never been to the White House Correspondents again.

I've never been to the Green Area again.

I'm sure of it.

I just don't.

I actually don't believe it.

No, no, no.

I was at a thing last night.

It was just a disaster.

Did they have airflares tonight?

No.

The ASNA thing, it was just awful.

Just the worst thing I had to sit through.

Well, the women's press club hosted dinner for the... Askew was there.

It really didn't come off very well at all.

Who spoke of arson?

Bob Wilson.

It was a disaster.

Just a disaster.

What the Christ did he speak for?

I don't know.

They picked it deliberately, did they?

Was his voice bad?

His voice was bad.

I don't know.

He was an utter goddamn white man.

But the whole evening was a disaster, even their slide presentation.

It was just awful.

They told me Conley did very well yesterday.

Conley just was brilliant.

I talked to Kruger and those guys last night from Texas.

Barry and I, are you coming to our office?

Oh, yes, sir.

I told Bob to order up the cabinet officers to do that.

They put them in various rooms.

We're going to let them take a tour of the upstairs.

Okay.

Yes, sir.

It's always good.

They're very... We had a...

session of the Blair House, her and I, before the California editor, before the thing, and they're very excited about tonight.

They're going to hear a hell of a lot of speeches.

They're going to hear a lot of me during the campaign.

I'm sure that's great for them.

I would have done that.

My plan was to do the Q&A with them, but I can't this week.

There's a reason.

Okay.

Jim Talbot, Kirk Porter, ask him to come in.

Yes, sir.

Nixon, Ziegler & Haig on Vietnam War and Media relations

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Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on April 20, 1972

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Nixon, Ziegler & Haig on Vietnam War and Media relations

AI Summary

Audio

NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on April 20, 1972

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Cite this conversation