Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 908 › Conversation 908-015

Nixon & Ziegler on Watergate and Public Relations

Tuesday, May 1, 1973 · 12:27 PM–12:39 PM ET · Oval Office · 17 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation908-015 on Tape 908StartTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 12:27 PMEndTuesday, May 1, 1973 at 12:39 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 908-015 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler to coordinate the White House's public communications strategy following the President's April 30 speech addressing the Watergate scandal. The discussion focused on maintaining a firm, confident public stance while directing Ziegler to avoid substantive commentary on the ongoing investigation, as advised by Elliot Richardson and Leonard Garment. Nixon emphasized the need to project presidential strength and instructed Ziegler to highlight that the administration is continuing its regular business, including an upcoming Cabinet meeting.

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Transcript (AI-generated)

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Okay, I've got some things to go ahead and tell them about the state of the problem and so forth and so on.
So, how did you get along today?
Did you survive it?
No, I'm going out to brief now.
Oh, I'm glad I asked.
What have you got?
Sir, the story of the movie now, which is actually a positive story, that you directed Richardson and Garment and Ruckelshaus to move to put into effect any procedures they felt necessary to...
to maintain integrity of the investigation, and people have seen FBI agents, you know, protecting the files, and that story is not casting aspersions on the individual, but as they cooperate with the process to make sure that all of their, you know, the files are handled in an orderly way, and access and removal of them, and, you know, that's really the
story moving today, but it's a good story because it underpins your intent to move in a, in a mortally effective way on this earth.
He's very, very terse.
That's the terse of, uh, terse of, uh, yes, my reaction to the president's move and everything, and I also, I thank you all that will do.
I'm going to say the president moved, uh,
Your president is... Full of command.
That's right.
He's going about the business of the presidency.
Sure.
I can handle that.
I'm not going to give it to him.
He's considered crap.
Right.
They're going to ask me today not to post.
I don't know whether or not I should be simple on that today, right?
Sure.
Maybe I will, depending on how you look at it.
Well, I'm not upset at the press.
Why don't you say, well, as the president said last night,
It was a good one.
They're talking about today.
That was a good move.
Keep them off balance.
That's the great thing about dealing with oppression.
They can be...
They're in good shape.
Now there's a feeling of, there's a feeling of pulling together.
I don't know if you saw the letter.
I went out.
I mean, that's not mine.
It's from the gals.
And that's the feeling.
And they're out there.
Well, the phone call suggests that.
The telegram suggests that.
I don't know if you saw the telegram thing, but it was about two to one.
Two to one.
It should be better than that.
It should be ten to one, but that's not there.
No, no, no, not really, because you've got the reference.
You want to remember this, Rob.
You've got to remember that.
All right.
All right.
Whenever we do anything that's expecting and going over their heads from the crest, it does not maul them.
It drives them wild.
And that is insane here.
That is why the rest of the people who are trying to get you in today, we mow over their heads again.
It will be like the number 3.
It will be like Cambodia.
It will be like Maine.
You've got to rear-run them.
In other words, you're going to try to get something else.
And our Democrats, I'm sure they're going to be part of some fighting.
Because their goal is basically not to get all of Europe.
Their goal, as a republic, their goal is to get the president.
Well, God damn it, they're not going to get the president.
So play it strong, confident, and tough.
We've got to recognize that we have a fight.
A hell of a fight.
Unfortunately, it's too bad that that coaster
I would say this, I don't want to be anything, but there must be some good letters and editorials
I mean, it's most bad when some people don't worry about other things sometimes.
It's a whole stretch.
Screw them.
They're never going to be satisfied with anything we do.
Scotty Reston and all those assholes.
Reston is.
What, Reston Rice?
No, I haven't seen what he's written.
I know what he said.
What'd he say?
He said the president put it right down the road on the speech.
Who'd he tell it to?
Garmin, I think.
Well, maybe you're right.
Maybe a few will see that the country is more important.
I think so.
But, even if it's the Catholic people, like Roger, he's always, you know, he's great.
He's always the perfect way of drawing us.
But, the other thing is, he's not a bad candidate.
He's got a shape up.
You know, it's kind of...
What do you sense of time?
He's just a fused little, you know, that, he was a brilliant man, but that type of an individual, that type of individual flows too much in assessing things by, by what the, his peers may feel, or what he feels they may feel, makes them nervous.
I want you to let him know that I would be quite disappointed with his reaction to that.
I think you should tell him that, alright?
As long as he doesn't come away from here with the Jews, it's all great.
I'm going to tell you.
But we didn't hear from Rocky.
Or Agnes.
Or Agnes.
We're going to fight this battle.
We're going to win.
We're going to be here.
And we're going to win this battle.
You're not discouraged, are you?
No.
I'm ready for it.
I'm ready to get out there to Britain.
It came on better, frankly.
The speech came on better than I thought it would go.
It came on very well.
You know what I mean?
What else could it do in the damn speech?
It could have been an emotional content that needed it.
It was on a weak speech.
It didn't roll.
It didn't pick on it.
Many people didn't want you to go beyond what you went through.
It was a race.
And I liked that part about Christmas Eve.
And that was very good.
I wrote that in my diary.
And I wrote that in my diary.
And I wrote that in my diary.
And I wrote that in my diary.
And I wrote that in my diary.
And I wrote that in my diary.
And the chemistry was good, too.
That was garbage, I didn't have time.
But it was good.
Those little things can hold on.
And frankly, it's, well, the press isn't like it.
It sticks those assholes right up their rump when you say, God bless America.
It was good to be great.
Well, I just want you to be firm and strong and on the water game.
As they say, fighting is impressive in action.
General.
He spoke in that last night.
And both Richardson and Garment, I had him instruct me not to comment on any substance.
What's that?
I had Richardson and Garment tell me that I can't comment on any substance.
Yes, that's right.
I can't comment on any of the substance matters.
He doesn't agree with us.
He doesn't agree with the investigator.
And I don't agree with whatever they say.
No.
I don't agree with you.
Oh, yes, he's got .
He said that he was .
He didn't get through his fire.
That appeared in the papers.
But of course, as you know, everybody knows it all.
They're fired, too.
Are they?
There's a separation.
They think they all were asked to leave, but there's a separation between the told and the believed.
And people understand that.
The healer should be.
Dean came out of this, all right.
He didn't want to go down alone.
What?
He didn't want to go down alone.
So if everybody went down, fine.
No one could tell him I was getting fined.
God, I don't know what we're going to tell them at the cabinet meetings about the section.
Just say the person wanted to get his captain and then meet with him.
Yes, he wanted to have a cabinet meeting and to, uh, and to, uh,
the Cabinet and senior White House staff who, uh, the President is now, uh, is an active chief of staff, Chief of Staff of the Cabinet.
Uh, we've got, uh, a lot of staff who, uh, the President, the President, the President, the President, and, uh, who, uh, uh, direct, uh, tell them how this is going to be conducted in this, in the period ahead.
And everything's going forward in all directions.
For example, the President's going to be here tomorrow,
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
It could have been an emotional content, but it was not a weak speech.
Then people didn't want you to go behind what you went through.
It was a ray of silence.
And I liked that part about this disease.
And that was a very good lesson.
I wrote that as a nerd.
a piece of gold just on hand for America.
Oh shit, those folks are not good.
It was much better when you sent it off to Christmas Eve, or the federal border to go along with it.
I sat down and wrote it down.
I didn't want to leave it to you.
That was not bad.
Very good.
And the calendar was good, too.
The calendar, that was garbage.
I didn't have time.
But it was good.
Those little things can go on.
And frankly, on the present, it sticks those assholes right up their rump.
They say, God bless America.
Well, I just want you to be firm and strong and on the water game.
If they say, uh, fight against the President, actually, you know, he spoke to them last night.
I don't know that, uh, in both Richardson, both Richardson and Garment, I had him instruct me not to be substantive.
I had Richardson and Garment tell me that I can't comment on the evidence.
That's right.
I can't comment on any of this substance matter.
These matters are just for people to read up because they're being investigated.
And I will not do whatever they say.
I'll talk to you.
Nope.
I'll talk to you.
There's a separation.
They think they're all, they all were asked to leave, but there's a separation between the tunnel, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the,
I just said the person wanted to get his cat in and meet with him.
Yes, he wanted to have a cat at the meeting.
And, uh, to, uh, to, uh, to, uh, to, uh,
and to the cabinet and senior White House staff, to the president who is now acting as chief of staff.
We've got a lot of staff, the president, fellow senators, who are going to be deducted from the period ahead.
And everything's going forward in all directions.
For example, the president
And, uh, to, uh, to, uh, to, uh, direct the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to,
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Call A.
Okay, yes, sir.
They're locked.
Okay.

NARA Description

On May 1, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:27 pm to 12:39 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 908-015 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 908-015

Date: May 1, 1973
Time: 12:27 pm - 12:39 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with Ronald L. Ziegler.

       Watergate
             -Ziegler’s forthcoming press briefing
                    -President’s directives
                             -Elliot L. Richardson, Leonard Garment and William D.
                             Ruckelshaus
                             -Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] guards in offices
                    -Washington Post
             -President’s previous speech, April 30
             -White House staff
                    -William E. Timmons
             -Reaction to President’s speech, April 30
                    -Telephone calls and telegrams
                    -President’s opponents
                             -November 3, 1969 speech
                             -Cambodia
                             -May 8 decision
                             -Goals
                                     -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman
                                     -President
                             -Charles W. Colson
                             -New York Times and Washington Post
                    -James B. (“Scotty”) Reston’s comment to Garment
                             -William P. Rogers

       Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, NARA Online Public Access Catalog Identifier: 597542

       Henry A. Kissinger
             -Reaction to President’s speech
             -Instructions for Ziegler
             -President’s support

       Watergate
             -Reaction to President’s speech, April 30
                    -Ronald W. Reagan
                    -Nelson A. Rockefeller and Spiro T. Agnew
             -President’s speech, April 30
                    -“Christmas Eve” reference
                    -Garment
                    -Ending
             -Ziegler’s forthcoming press briefing
                    -Instructions from Richardson and Garment
                    -John W. Dean, III
                             -Haldeman and Ehrlichman

       Ziegler’s forthcoming press briefing
              -President’s forthcoming Cabinet meeting
              -President’s schedule
                      -Quadriad

       Kissinger
              -Ziegler’s meeting with Alexander M. Haig, Jr.

Ziegler left at 12:39 pm.

Also recorded on May 1, 1973

  • 908-014 12:26 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and unknown person(s) met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:26 pm and 12:27 pm.
  • 908-016 12:40 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Rose Mary Woods met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:40 pm to 12:49 pm.
  • 908-026 12:49 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents and President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:49 pm and 3:07 pm.
  • 433-001 12:50 PM · 7 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:50 pm to 12:58 pm.
  • 045-073 12:58 PM · 18 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:58 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 045-074 12:58 PM · 10 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 12:58 pm and 12:59 pm.
  • 045-075 12:59 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 12:59 pm to 1:00 pm.
  • 433-002 12:59 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Dr. Walter R. Tkach met in the President's office in the Old Executive Office Building from 12:59 pm to 1:00 pm.

All 181 conversations from May 1, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 908-015, May 1, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/908-015 (accessed October 12, 2026).