President Nixon met with Ronald Ziegler and Henry Kissinger to coordinate the administration's public schedule, specifically addressing the timing of President Nguyen Van Thieu's visit and the President's upcoming press conference regarding troop withdrawals. The group discussed logistical and political considerations for various correspondents' dinners, including whether the President should attend the Gridiron dinner given the hostile posture of Democratic leaders like George McGovern. Additionally, Nixon and Kissinger reviewed foreign policy developments involving the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China, emphasizing the need for strict confidentiality regarding these sensitive diplomatic channels.
On February 21, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon, Ronald L. Ziegler, Henry A. Kissinger, unknown person(s), and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House from 10:19 am to 10:46 am. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 859-019 of the White House Tapes.
Nixon Library Finding AidConversation No. 859-19
Date: February 21, 1973
Time: 10:19 am - 10:46 am
Location: Oval Office
The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.
Entertainment at Gridiron [?]
-Singers
-Dancers
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Nov.-09)
Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Comics
-President’s preferences
-Press relations
Dinners
-Entertainment
-President's appearances
Bob Clark
-Radio and Television Correspondents dinner
-Date
-Problems in arranging
-Herbert G. Klein
-President’s attendance
White House Correspondents Association
-Lodging
-Date of dinner
Nguyen Van Thieu
-Date
-Choices
The President talked with Henry A. Kissinger at an unknown time between 10:19 am and 10:26
am.
[Conversation No. 859-19A]
Date of Thieu meeting
-Correspondents dinner
-Timing
-Meeting with the President and Ziegler
[End of telephone conversation]
H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Schedule items
The President talked with an unknown person after 10:19 am.
[Conversation No. 859-19B]
William F. (“Billy”) Graham
-Return call
-President's return call
[End of telephone conversation]
Clark
-Date of White House Correspondents Association dinner
-President's acceptance
-Other dates
-Problems in arranging accommodations
-Optional date
-Congress in recess
-Affiliate meetings
-Letter to Ziegler
-Scheduling conflicts
-Foreign travel
Kissinger entered at 10:26 am.
Thieu visit
-Date
-Troop withdrawals
-Troop withdrawals
-Thieu's preference on date
-Date
-Options
-Delays
-President’s press conference
-Troops
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Nov.-09)
Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Meeting in California
-Press conference in California
-President's press conference
-Location
-Washington
-California
-Timing with Thieu visit
-Date
-Troop withdrawals
President’s schedule
-White House Correspondents Associations dinner
-Thieu visit
-California
-Options
Thieu visit
-Meeting in San Clemente
-Thieu’s itinerary
-Visit to Washington, DC
-Meeting with President, Vice President
-President’s stay in San Clemente
-Head of State dinner
-Size
-Location
-San Clemente
-Washington, DC
-Talks with President
-Working dinner
-Vice President's dinner
-Blair House
-Anderson House
-San Clemente visit
-Optimistic dates
Ziegler left at 10:34 am.
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
(rev. Nov.-09)
Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
Vietnam
-Thieu
-US support
-Demonstrations
-Control of visit
-White House dinner
-Spiro T. Agnew
-Host
-State dinner
Annual report
-Kissinger’s role
President’s press conference
-Date
-Completion of troop withdrawals
-Television [TV] coverage
-Trip to California
-Return to Washington
-White House Correspondents Association dinner
-Timing
William P. Rogers
-President’s telephone call
-Multilateral agreement
-People’s Republic of China [PRC]
-Progress in talks
-Office
-Title
-Kissinger’s talk with Rogers
-Rogers’s reaction
-President’s call
-News summary
-Multilateral agreements
-News summary
-Questions
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Rogers’s statements
-Kissinger’s talk with Rogers
-PRC
-Rogers’s reaction
-Rogers’s knowledge
-US talks with PRC
Stephen B. Bull entered at an unknown time after 10:34 am.
Harry S. Dent’s arrival
Bull left at an unknown time before 10:46 am.
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [USSR]
-Economic Commission
-Deal
-Kissinger’s talks with Anatoliy F. Dobrynin
-Trade agreement [?]
-George P. Shultz’s role
-Frederick B. Dent
-Commerce Department
-Peter G. Peterson
-Shultz
-Dent
-Compared with Shultz
Kissinger’s forthcoming meeting with the President
Report on Mao Tse-Tung
-Secretary
-Trustworthiness
-Memoirs, biography
Confidentiality
-Gen. Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
-Shultz
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Haldeman
-John D. Ehrlichman
-Hugh Scott
-PRC
-Strengths
-US relations with Japan
-President’s public statements
-John E. Moss [?]
-Statements
-President’s briefing to Congress
-Effects on talks with North, South Vietnam
-Division of labor
Gridiron dinner
-Kissinger
-Invitation
-George S. McGovern
-Democratic speaker
-President's attendance
-Press relations
-McGovern
-Comparisons with the President
-Applause
-Jokes
-Press reports
-White House Correspondents Associations dinner
-President's attendance
-Hubert H. Humphrey
-Edmund S. Muskie
-1972 election
-McGovern
-President's Inauguration
-Refusal to attend
-President's attendance at John F. Kennedy's Inauguration
-Statements on Vietnam
-Kissinger's attendance
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NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
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Conversation No. 859-19 (cont’d)
-Kissinger’s view on President’s attendance
Dent
Gridiron dinner
-McGovern’s attendance
-Advantages
-President’s attendance
-Disadvantages
-Rogers
-Attendance
-President's non-attendance
-McGovern
Kissinger left at 10:46 am.This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.