Nixon White House Tapes ›Tape 794 › Conversation 794-018

Nixon, Ziegler & Haldeman on 1972 Presidential Campaign and Press Relations

Monday, October 9, 1972 · 5:11 PM–6:08 PM ET · Oval Office ·7 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Haldeman, H. R. ("Bob")Conversation794-018 onTape 794StartMonday, October 9, 1972 at 5:11 PMEndMonday, October 9, 1972 at 6:08 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 794-018 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon, Ronald Ziegler, and H.R. Haldeman met to coordinate media strategy regarding Nixon's selective support for Republican candidates and specific congressional Democrats. Ziegler briefed the President on his efforts to navigate press inquiries about the administration's stance on various Senate and House races, emphasizing a policy of neutrality rather than blanket endorsements. The participants discussed managing the President's public involvement in campaigns and maintaining a balanced approach toward incumbent allies and former cabinet members.

1972 Presidential Campaign
Press Relations
Political Endorsements
Republican Party Strategy
Vietnam Negotiations

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 Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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I wanted to cover a thing with you briefly.

I was hit this morning in the briefing on a sensitive area which I just had to fuzz through and brush over because I was asked whether or not you supported all Republicans

And I said, look, I'm not going to do a state-by-state rundown and all this sort of committee stuff.

And I went through all that.

Then I was pressed, well, does he support you?

Are you meaning to say that you won't say that he supports the former member of the cabinet?

I said, well, he doesn't.

They said, does he oppose?

I said, he certainly doesn't oppose him.

And then I was asked whether or not he'd support him.

I said, yes, he could write it either way.

He doesn't oppose him or support him.

So I made the point that we did not have a harsh

yeah yeah

Right.

uh... uh... uh...

There are several members of the House and several members of the Senate that we can strongly support, particularly the floor and the House.

And we will definitely not, and we will not, we will not, we will not, we will not, we will not,

I'm not voting.

Are you saying the president would oppose the members of the cabinet?

I said the president does.

And I was asked, were you saying that he supports them?

There's a difference between not opposing and supporting.

He said, well, you can write it either way.

Not opposing or supporting.

But I never said that he supports them.

I think we're all right on that.

I'm not going to get into any campaign in any individual region.

I'm not going to participate in any individual campaign.

you know what you do I guess right you only got 80% again what the hell are you worried about

NARA Description

On October 9, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, and H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 5:11 pm and 6:08 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 794-018 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 794-18
Date: October 9, 1972
Time: Unknown between 5:11 pm and 6:08 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

         Vietnam negotiations
             -Henry A. Kissinger’s meeting
                 -Washington Star

         Ziegler’s press briefing
             -Republican candidates
                  -James Eastland’s meeting with the President
                  -Winton M. (“Red”) Blount
                       -John J. Sparkman
                  -John L. McClellan
                  -Eastland
                       -Gilbert Carmichael
                            -Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
                  -The President’s instructions to Ziegler
                       -Campaigning
                            -The President’s schedule

                                        (rev. Nov-03)

H.R. (“Bob”) Haldeman entered at 5:13 pm.

         Candidates
            -Supporters of the President
                 -Donald W. Riegle, Jr.
                 -Carmichael
                 -Individual races
                     -Campaigning
                          -Endorsement letters
                     -Support for the President’s foreign and defense policies
                          -Democrats in Congress
                 -Blount
                 -Carmichael
                     -Eastland
                 -McClellan
                 -Eastland
                     -Agnew, Tricia Nixon Cox
                     -The President’s participation in Campaigns

Ziegler left at 5:18 pm.

*****************************************************************

BEGIN WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1
[Personal returnable]
[Duration: 22m 30s ]

END WITHDRAWN ITEM NO. 1

*****************************************************************

[This conversation was cut off at an unknown time before 6:08 pm].

Also recorded on October 9, 1972

794-013 3:34 PM · 31 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 3:34 pm and 3:35 pm.
794-014 3:35 PM · 24 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 3:35 pm to 4:34 pm.
794-015 4:34 PM · 2 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:34 pm and 4:37 pm.
794-016 4:37 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Republican candidates for office, including Carveth S. Thompson, Russell W. Peterson, Robert Hirsch, Louie B. Nunn, Dave Towell, Gene Savoie, Harold V. Froehlich, James B. Moseley, Paul W. Cronin, Ellis S. Rubin, Joel Gustafson, Jack Insco, Russ Sloan, Alf Adams, John W. Byrnes, William E. Timmons, John C. Nidecker, Richard K. Cook, and Brad E. Hainsworth, met in the Oval Office of the White House from 4:37 pm to 5:00 pm.
794-017 5:00 PM · 5 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Alexander P. Butterfield met in the Oval Office of the White House from 5:00 pm to 5:10 pm.
031-029 7:08 PM · 46 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods talked on the telephone from 7:08 pm to 7:09 pm.
031-030 7:09 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 7:09 pm and 7:21 pm.
031-031 7:21 PM · 22 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Charles W. Colson talked on the telephone from 7:21 pm to 7:32 pm.

All 31 conversations from October 9, 1972 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 794-018, October 9, 1972. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/794-018 (accessed September 18, 2026).