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    "title": "Press Secretary Briefings, 7/13/76",
    "description": "This file contains materials relating to Bob Mead.",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1671679",
    "collections": [
        "Ron Nessen Files (Ford Administration)",
        "Ron Nessen's Press Briefing Transcripts"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Taiwan",
        "Olympics",
        "White House (Washington, D.C.)"
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 20 of The Ron Nessen File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nThis Copy For\nNEWS CONFERENCE\n#532\nAT THE WHITE HOUSE\nWITH RON NESSEN\nAT 12:00 NOON EDT\nJULY 13, 1976\nTUESDAY\nMR. NESSEN: Let me give you some details on the\ntrip today. The press check-in at Andrews is 5:00. The\npress plane leaves at 5:30 and arrives at Philadelphia\nInternational Airport at 6:15. The President will take off\nby helicopter from the South Lawn at 5:55, depart Andrews\nat 6:15 and arrive at Philadelphia International Airport\nat 6:45.\nThe plan is to go directly to the stadium and\nparticipate in a brief reception, which will include\nrepresentatives of each of the Major League baseball teams.\nThe President then will visit the locker rooms of the\nAmerican and National League All-Stars and then will throw\nout the first ball to the opposing catchers at about 8:30.\nThe President will take a number of guests with\nhim to the game. They will meet briefly in the Oval Office\nand then go by helicopter to Andrews and then on to\nPhiladelphia.\nThey are Ernie Banks, the former baseball player,\nand Joe Garagiola, the former baseball player.\nQ\nIs he also taking some sportswriters?\nMR. NESSEN: At the stadium the President is going\nto have other people with him in the box, including the\nbaseball Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn; Warren Giles, the\nPresident of the National League; Joe Cronin, the President\nof the American League, Hank Aaron; Mrs. Julius Stevens and\nher son, who are Babe Ruth's daughter and grandson--our\nadvance people don't have their names--Roone Arledge of\nABC; Governor and Mrs. Byrne of New Jersey, and several\nsportswriters, whose names I can't give you at the moment.\nThe President will throw out the first two balls,\nas you know, and he will be handed the balls by Bob Lemon\nand by Robin Roberts, former baseball players who are the\nmost recent inductees in the Baseball Hall of Fame. The\none pitch will go to Johnny Bench, who is the catcher for\nthe National League All-Star team, and the other to Thurman\nMunson, who is the catcher for the American League team.\nMORE\n#532\n- 2 -\n#532-7/13\nI think you know that tomorrow is the President's\n63rd birthday. As part of this, he is having his semi-\nannual routine physical examination in the White House\nMedical Office at 8:00 in the morning. I think you know\nthat the way this works is that the President has the\nfull physical once a year, in January, and then the half-\nyearly shorter examination on his birthday in July.\nThat is tomorrow morning at 8:00. It is\nexpected to take 30 or 40 minutes. It consists of an EKG,\nlaboratory tests and the physical examination portion. Dr.\nLukash will conduct it, and I expect by briefing time we\nwill be able to give you a report on it.\nQ\nCan we have that today? (Laughter)\nMR. NESSEN: It is a kidding day on the briefing\nfront. (Laughter)\nOn Friday night the President will go to Baltimore\nto attend a reception given by Chancellor and Mrs. Schmidt\naboard the German tall ship Gorch Fock. The President will\ngo there by helicopter, leaving the South Lawn at about\n6:00, and will be back shortly after 8:00.\nThe press will go by bus, with the buses departing\nthe Southwest Gate at about 4:00.\nQ\nWill there be a pool at all on the chopper?\nMR. NESSEN: Yes.\nQ\nAboard ship?\nMR. NESSEN: We will have a sign-up sheet posted\nfollowing this briefing. The coverage plans are that there\nwill be an expanded pool, which will be actually aboard the\nship, and for anybody else who wants to go, it is going to\nbe dockside coverage, which is open coverage but on the dock.\nI think we will be able to get a few seats,\nprobably something like the Charlottesville plan, for going\non the helicopter with the President.\nQ\nRon, do you anticipate there will be toasts\nat that dinner?\nMR. NESSEN: No, it is a reception.\nQ\nHe is not having remarks at all, then?\nMR. NESSEN: Thursday night is the State dinner\nfor Chancellor Schmidt. This is Friday night.\nMORE\n#532\n- 3 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nSchmidt is not entertaining him at dinner\naboard the ship?\nQ\nIs this a reciprocal?\nMR. NESSEN: It is possible that there could\nbe some brief remarks there.\nQ\nHow long will he be there?\nMR. NESSEN: He leaves the South Lawn at about\n6:00 and gets back a little after 8:00, so he will be gone\nabout two hours altogether, so probably an hour on the\nship.\nQ\nIs Schmidt going on the helicopter?\nMR. NESSEN: No, Schmidt will be there to greet\nhim. I have not got the exact plans yet.\nQ\nWhat is he doing tomorrow night on his\nbirthday?\nMR. NESSEN: There are no plans to announce\nright now.\nQ\nIs he going to be here in the Residence?\nMR. NESSEN: As far as I know, he will be.\nQ\nWatching television?\nQ\nHow about entertainment or some kind of\nparty?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't have any plans for tomorrow.\nQ\nRon, you said at one time this President\nwas one of the most athletic in recent times. Did he ever\nplay baseball?\nMR. NESSEN: He watches baseball.\nQ\nWhen was the last time he went to a game?\nMR. NESSEN: He threw out the opening ball in\nApril in Texas, so that would have been about two and a half\nmonths ago was the last time he was at a baseball game. Of\ncourse, he threw out the ball at the opening of the season in\n1974 and saw Hank Aaron hit the 714th homerun at that game.\nThat was in Cincinnati. Then, it seems to me, he went to\nanother game after that, before the opening of the season,\ndown in Texas this year.\nMORE\n#532\n- 4 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nDo you know if he played in high school,\nRon?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't know whether he played any\nbaseball or not. I have not heard him say that he played\nbaseball.\nQ\nDid he watch the Democratic Convention\nlast night on television?\nMR. NESSEN: What he did was, when he went up to\nthe Residence, he turned on the TV -- as he often does --\nand kept the sound down low while he did about an hour and\na half's worth of paperwork. That is what he normally does\neach night, is to turn on the TV and look at it if it\ninterests him and also go through his paperwork. That. is\nwhat he did, and he said that really he concentrated mostly\non the paperwork.\nQ\nDid he hear the keynote addresses?\nMR. NESSEN: He didn't really turn up the sound.\nQ\nYou don't have any reaction to the keynote\naddress then from the President?\nMR. NESSEN: No.\nQ\nSo, based on your statement of what his style\nis, he found nothing last night that interested him?\nMR. NESSEN: That is correct.\nQ\nThe same way with Nixon. (Laughter)\nMR. NESSEN: Now there is an honest man.\nQ\nWhat else is new?\nMR. NESSEN: Not much. What's new with you, Rudy?\n(Laughter)\nI don't have anything else.\nQ\nWhat is he going to say this afternoon to\nthese foreign exchange students?\nMR. NESSEN: I haven't looked at the text of that,\nJohn.\nQ\nWill that be on schedule so we can\ncover it and get to Andrews?\nMR. NESSEN: 3:15 -- Yes, I think he will do that\non schedule.\nMORE\n#532\n- 5 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nWhat about Saturday's schedule?\nMR. NESSEN: Saturday's schedule -- I have not\ngotten the exact arrangements yet, but it is going to be an\nawfully early departure.\nQ\nApproximately what?\nMR. NESSEN: 5:30 or 6:00 a.m.\nQ\nLeaving 5:30?\nMR. NESSEN: Yes, because he is going up there\nfor a breakfast.\nQ\nDo you mean 4:30 for us?\nMR. NESSEN: No, no, I am saying press departure\nabout 5:30 or 6:00. The President will probably leave\nabout a quarter to 7:00, go to breakfast and some other\nevents connected with the convention in Hartford, and\nthen will be back shortly after the beginning of the day.\nQ\nWho is he going to breakfast with?\nMR. NESSEN: I have not got the exact details.\nQ\nSounds like fun.\nMR. NESSEN: Doesn't it?\nQ\nCan we go to the Officer's Club and get drunk\nin Salem? (Laughter)\nMR. NESSEN: It is all right with me. I don't\nhave any problems.\nMORE\n#532\n- 6 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nRon, may I have your reaction here to the\nPhilippines establishing diplomatic relations with Vietnam\nand Thailand, as reported?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't have any comment on the\nestablishment.\nQ\nIn that connection, then, has the Administration\nsatisfied itself yet that any steps are being taken on the MIAs\nthat would encourage normalization relations between the U.S.\nand Vietnam?\nMR. NESSEN: I think you know that there has been\nsome communication back and forth but no progress to report.\nQ\nAnything to report on the IOC?\nMR. NESSEN: Well, I would only say this, John:\nMy understanding is that the IOC is meeting this afternoon\nat 2 o'clock to consider the Executive Committee decision\nof yesterday. I would say that the American position or the\nWhite House position is that politics have no place in the\n01ympic Games; that we believe the 01ympics are a sporting\nevent; that the participants in the Games should be determined\nby the International 01ympic Committee.\nThe role of the host country is solely to provide\nfacilities for the Games and the host country should not\nstipulate political or other considerations for participation\nin the Games.\nQ\nHas the President relayed this feeling to\nTrudeau or anyone else in the Canadian Government?\nMR. NESSEN: There has not been any direct contact\nwith the Canadian Government.\nQ\nRon, based on this attitude at the White House,\nit seemed to me that the President is at this point -- if\nit continues -- of the attitude to recommend that the U.S.\nteam not participate.\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, I just don't want to project\nthat far ahead. The IOC is meeting today. The President\nstill hopes that this will be resolved in a way that athletes\ncan compete freely without their participation being determined\non political grounds.\nQ\nRon, does the President have any reply to the\ncharge by the External Affairs Minister of Canada that the\nPresident has engaged in political interference because of\nyour comments yesterday?\nMR. NESSEN: The President does not have any\nresponse to that, no.\nQ\nDo you have any?\nMR. NESSEN: No.\nMORE\n#532\n- 7 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nYou say there has been no direct contact with\nthe Canadian Government?\nMR. NESSEN: Yes.\nQ\nAny indirect contact?\nMR. NESSEN: No.\nQ\nYou were using that phrase to rule out any\ncontact?\nMR. NESSEN: Yes.\nQ\nIn other words, your only way of letting Trudeau\nknow how the President feels is through the media and through\nthe American Olympic Team?\nMR. NESSEN: Well, there certainly has been no\ndirect communication with the Canadian Government in this.\nQ\nHas the President suggested or has the President\ndiscussed any of this matter of Taiwan and Montreal with his\nCommission Study on the Status of Amateur Sports in the\nUnited States?\nMR. NESSEN: Let's see. Mike Harrigan, I believe,\nis the head of that committee. Mike Harrigan has participated\nin meetings at which this matter was discussed.\nQ\nThis week?\nMR. NESSEN: This week and the latter part of\nlast week, yes.\nQ\nRon, Krumm will be in attendance at the IOC\nmeeting this afternoon.\nMR. NESSEN: That is correct, yes.\nQ\nWill he deliver to the IOC the statement you\njust delivered to us?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't know whether he will deliver\nthe exact statement. The United States Olympic Committee is\na private organization unconnected with the Government. I\njust recall to you the President's phone call to Krumm yesterday\nin which he urged Krumm to use his influence to have the\nExecutive Committee decision overturned. So, Krumm will have\nto make his own presentation. He is not under any sort of\nGovernment control, but he certainly knows how the President\nfeels based on the phone conversation.\nQ\nI gather he shares the President's feeling\non this subject.\nMORE\n#532\n- 8 -\n#532-7/13\nMR. NESSEN: Well, I can't speak for Krumm. I\ndon't know. You will have to wait and see what he does at\nthat meeting today.\nQ\nRon, on another subject, in the Post today\nthere is a story here on Bob Mead and it reports you as\nhaving said that you saved Mead several times and Mead says:\n\"I don't know what he is talking about. I would like for\nhim to say on the record when he saved me and why he was unhappy.\"\nI wonder if you would respond to that.\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, I think if you were here yesterday\nyou know that I called attention to Bob Mead's public remarks\nthat he wanted his resignation to be handled in a quiet\nand personal manner and I respect his wishes and I told him\nthat on the phone yesterday and I intend to conduct this in\nthe same manner that Bob has, which is to do it in a quiet and\npersonal manner.\nQ\nWell, he is quoted here as saying that he wants\nyou to say publicly where you saved him.\nMR. NESSEN: Well, Bob and I have talked and I\nthink that is the way to handle this matter.\nQ\nHow long is he going to stay?\nMR. NESSEN: He will stay for 30 days beyond the\ndate of his resignation.\nQ\nWhy?\nMR. NESSEN: That is the normal way of doing it.\nQ\nWhen will he leave, then?\nMR. NESSEN: August 8. His resignation was dated\nJuly 8, so his departure will be August 8.\nQ\nRon, along that line--if this has been asked\nearlier--\nMR. NESSEN: He will probably take some vacation\ntime during that period.\nQ\nHas the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee\ngiven any assurance that Margita White's nomination will be\nin fact taken up?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't know about that, Bob. I will\nhave to look into that.\nQ\nRon, was the timing of the GOP Convention an\ninfluence in Bob's departure?\nMORE\n#532\n- 9 -\n#532-7/13\nMR. NESSEN: You have to ask Bob, because he\nsubmitted his resignation last week and I don't know what his\nconsiderations were in submitting it.\nQ\nHe indicated he would be willing to stay on\nuntil August 31 after the Convention, but this suggests that\nthe White House does not want his services during the\nConvention.\nMR. NESSEN: Well, this is a fairly normal manner\nin which to handle resignations -- 30 days of service beyond\nthe date of the resignation.\nQ\nRon, you are probably aware that the Public\nBroadcasting Service telephoned Bob yesterday and offered to\nsend a letter to the President indicating that they would take\nthe entire blame for the broadcast, the telecast of the\nQueen's dinner. I am wondering if you have apologized\npersonally to Bob for the letter which you sent?\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, as I say, I am going to accede\nto Bob's wishes and handle this matter in the quiet and\npersonal way that he, himself, has asked for.\nQ\nRon, you know, I saw a whole weekend of\nquotes. It is a little late to be handling it in a quiet\nand personal way. I mean, hasn't that boat sort of left the\ndock?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't know, Aldo. I know I am going\nto respect Bob's wishes and do it this way.\nQ\nStarting yesterday?\nQ\nThen, it is fair to say that you do retract\nyour weekend statements where you said that you had saved\nhim for six months?\nMR. NESSEN: I am not entirely clear of what your\ngoal in this is, Phil.\nQ\nMy goal is to find out the truth.\nMR. NESSEN: Well, my goal is to accede to Bob's\nwishes that his resignation, for whatever reasons, be handled\nin a quiet and personal way, and I intend to do that, as I\nsaid yesterday and today.\nQ\nWhy didn't you accede to his wishes over the\nweekend when you were making comments about what a terrible\njob he had done?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't know that I said that to anybody,\nFred.\nQ\nI certainly saw it quoted by UPI.\nMR. NESSEN: Well, I would like to be responsible\nfor my own remarks and --\nMORE\n#532\n- 10 -\n#532-7/13\nQ\nWere you misquoted on that?\nMR. NESSEN: I am going to handle this the way Bob\nsuggests. It is a man's life and career and I think that Bob\nhas a right to have it treated in a, as I say, quiet and\npersonal way. I am going to live up to that --\nQ\nIt most certainly is --\nMR. NESSEN: -- as I told Bob on the phone yesterday.\nQ\nIt most certainly is his career, and you were\nquoted over the weekend as saying that you saved him for six\nmonths, that a lot of people wanted to fire him and that you\npersonally saved him -- this time you decided to step aside.\nOur question has nothing to do but with, are you\nadmitting that you made those statements?\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, as I said, Bob yesterday asked\nthat this be handled in a quiet and personal manner. I\ntold Bob on the phone that I was going to handle it in a quiet\nand personal manner, and I am going to.\nQ\nDo you regret that you made those weekend\nstatements?\nMR. NESSEN: I am going to handle Bob's resignation\nin a quiet and personal manner, as Bob suggested, and as I told\nhim I would.\nQ\nSo, you are stonewalling my question.\nMR. NESSEN: I told Bob on the phone yesterday that\nI was going to handle his resignation in a quiet and personal\nmanner, as he suggested, and I intend to keep my promise to\nBob.\nQ\nDo you regret you made those statements over\nthe weekend?\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, I can repeat my position on this\nfor quite a long time, but I think we are probably not going\nto get very far doing it.\nQ\nYour position is untenable unless you make a\nstatement that you wish you had not made those remarks over\nthe weekend, or whether or not it is true or not you would\nlike to wipe the board clean. I mean, you can't handle this\nin a quiet and personal manner.\nMR. NESSEN: I can handle it the way Bob and I\nagreed it would be handled, which is in a quiet and personal\nway, as Bob requested, and I intend to do it that way.\nQ\nThe previous comments stand, though, unless\nyou retract them.\nMORE\n#532\n- 11 -\n#532-7/13\nMR. NESSEN: Well, I don't know what previous\ncomments you are talking about, John. I am going to handle it\nthe way Bob and I have agreed to handle it.\nQ\nWhen did he ask you to handle this in a quiet\nand personal way?\nMR. NESSEN: Well, as you know, yesterday we talked\nabout that appearing on the UPI wire and I later talked to\nBob during the day and I said that is the way I preferred\nto handle it also, and so we agreed --\nQ\nWhy can't you show courtesy to the man and\nanswer our question of whether or not you made those statements\nand you stand by them or, number two, you made them and you\nregret that you made them? Now, one of those two things is\na courtesy to Bob Mead.\nMR. NESSEN: Phil, Bob yesterday asked that his\nresignation be handled in a quiet and personal manner. I\ntalked to Bob on the phone yesterday and I said, \"I agree with\nyou and that is what I intend to do,\" and that is what I do\nintend to do.\nQ\nYou don't consider this a hit-and-run tactic\non a man's career?\nMR. NESSEN: I don't, Phil.\nQ\nThat was a serious question.\nMR. NESSEN: I know it was a serious question, and\nmy answer was a serious no.\nTHE PRESS: Thank you, Ron.\nEND\n(AT 12:22 P.M. EDT)\n#532"
}