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1671497
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Press Secretary Briefings, 8/23/75
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1671497
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document
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Press Secretary Briefings, 8/23/75
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Ron Nessen Files (Ford Administration)
Ron Nessen's Press Briefing Transcripts
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Colorado
Vail (Colo.)
White House (Washington, D.C.)
Presidential trips
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23
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1975-08-23
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8
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1975
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23
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1975-08-23
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8
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1975
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Digitized from Box 12 of The Ron Nessen File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
This Copy For
NEWS CONFERENCE
#305
AT THE WHITE HOUSE
WITH RON NESSEN
AT 10:15 A.M. MDT
AUGUST 23, 1975
SATURDAY
(Vail, Colorado)
MR. NESSEN: The President had staff meetings
this morning with Cheney and Nessen and did some paper-
work. He got a lengthy written report on Dr. Kissinger's
mission.
Q
What do you mean "written"?
MR. NESSEN: Cabled across.
He will be playing golf or maybe has already
just left for golf . with Ted Kindel, Bob Wolfe and Jim
Brown.
He doesn't have any other plans for today. He
will probably do some more work when he gets back from
golf.
This evening he will be having dinner privately
in the Residence of Pepi and Sheika Gramshammer. They
have an apartment upstairs over the restaurant.
Then the President is looking forward to attending
the extravaganza at the Golden Peak Restaurant.
I have some news about tomorrow. We have
acquired, at great cost, a Chinook helicopter to fly a
fairly large pool from the Kalispell International Airport
to the Libby Dam.
We will be posting all of this later, in fact,
soon, because we have most of this nailed down, but just
to give you an idea, this pool helicopter will carry four
wire service reporters, two wire service photographers, a
three-man team from each of the networks, a radio
engineer, the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, L.A. Times,
the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, St. Louis Post
Dispatch and Westinghouse.
I have not included any magazines on this pool
on the theory they are all past their deadlines. Is
there a problem with that?
MORE
#305
- 2 -
#305-8/23
Q
I can't quarrel with your rationale, but I
don't think that should ever be a valid rationale for
excluding anybody.
MR. NESSEN: Since we are short on seats, I
thought we would try that this time. If you have any
strong feeling about it, we can take another look at the
pool. We are including all newspapers who are traveling
with us, and I think that is fair.
There are no telephone lines whatever out of
Libby Dam, so there can be no filing at Libby Dam. Not
only that, but there are no telephone lines for WHCA to
get the speech back to the press room at Kalispell Inter-
national Airport. However, a local radio station is
broadcasting the event, and there will be radios set up
in the press room so you can listen.
Q
Do you mean the President is not going to
have a telephone if he goes to the Libby Dam himself?
MR. NESSEN: I am sure he has communications,
Helen.
The press room is at the fire station at the
Kalispell International Airport. There will be 6 LD's
phones on the ramp at Kalispell and then LD's phones
in the press center, but there are only ten lines altogether
SO at some point we are going to have to shut off the
six phones on the ramp and transfer everything to the
ten phones in the fire station, if you follow me.
There will be about ten minutes filing time
between his return from the dam to Kalispell until he
takes off for Chicago.
MORE
#305
- 3 -
#305-8/23
Q
What time do we get to Chicago?
MR. NESSEN: We get into Chicago at 7 o'clock.
Q
How much time between the pool's return
and the press plane's departure?
MR. NESSEN: Ten to 15 minutes.
Q
I don't see how we are going to do it, Ron,
with ten telephones and the pool will come back with him.
I don't see how we are going to do it in ten minutes.
MR. NESSEN: I don't either, Ralph, and I think
the people who don't need to file will have to let those who
do need to file -- radio and wires -- do it, and the others
can write on the way to Chicago and file there.
I mean p.m. papers, for instance, wouldn't
have to file. Maybe even West Coast a.m. papers wouldn't
have to file until we get to Chicago.
?
What time are we due back to Kalispell?
MR. NESSEN: I didn't bring my full schedule with
me.
MR. ROBERTS: We get back about 3 o'clock Mountain
Time.
Q
What plane leaves first from Kalispell? I
understand the press leaves first.
MR. NESSEN: Yes, but you will have 10 or 15
minutes to file there.
Q
What will the President be doing?
MR. NESSEN: I think he may be meeting with some
local officials at Kalispell.
?
Where is he going to meet Macdonald?
MR. NESSEN: At the dam.
Q
That is where he will make his speech at the
dam?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Do you have the text?
MR. NESSEN: I have the text all approved. I
think the stencils are done. I would think we are going to
have a bible, a text and a pool list by somewhere between
noon and 1 o'clock.
MORE
#305
- 4 -
#305-8/23
You should take raincoats to the dam, and also
it is muddy up there, I am told. So much for the good
news. (Laughter)
When we get to Chicago, the President has accepted
the invitation from Mayor Daly to attend a dinner at the
Chicago Yacht Club for the participants in the world
championship sailboat races of the star class. Those are
small sailboats. The dinner is at the Chicago Yacht Club.
The President will go directly from O'Hare to the
Yacht Club. That will be covered by a pool. The reason
it will be covered by a pool is, there are only about 50
or 60 guests. It is not a big place, and I don't see
swamping them with 100 reporters and technicians.
Q
Is that Sunday night?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Will that be the same travel pool as for the
day?
MR. NESSEN: No, it will switch. The Air Force
One pool ends at O'Hare, and we will post a new pool. I
think you will agree that Russ Ward is our all-time racing
champion
for sailboats here and should be there.
Q Will it just be a travel pool, or will it
cover the dinner speech?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, the whole thing.
Q
Will he speak at the dinner?
MR. NESSEN: Ten minutes will be set aside, but
if he does speak, it will be just informal, off-the-cuff
remarks.
Q
Can you tell us about the races?
MR. NESSEN: We will try to get some kind of
information sheet about the races. Eric is working on it.
Mayor Daly and the City of Chicago are the hosts.
Q
Where are we staying in Chicago?
MR. NESSEN: At the Palmer House.
Q
Is the President staying there too?
MR. NESSEN: Yes.
Q
Is he going to chopper in?
MR. NESSEN: No, I think the plan is to motorcade
from O'Hare.
MORE
#305
- 5 -
#305-8/23
Q
Will there be a crowd for the motorcade?
Do you expect a lot of people to come out?
MR. NESSEN: I wouldn't think at seven 'clock
on a Sunday evening, no.
One other little note about tomorrow.
As you see, for the stuff that you want to go
straight back to Washington in the way of baggage without
getting it off in Chicago, you can put it out in the
lobby here at the Mountain Haus between nine and midnight
tonight, and that will go straight on back to Washington.
The things you need for your overnight in
Chicago should be just one suitcase or piece of luggage
per family you can carry with you on the buses Sunday
and carry it on down to Grand Junction or, if you are
driving to Grand Junction in a rental car, take it with
you and load it on the plane when you get there.
Q
What does the pool do? Can they put it on
the bus?
MR. NESSEN: Right, put it on the bus.
Q
Ron, overnight in Chicago, if we have
hand luggage, we want to leave inside the cabin of the
plane, that is all right, too, right?
MR. NESSEN: Sure.
Q
It will be the same plane to Washington?
MR. NESSEN: You mean leave it overnight on the
plane?
Q
Yes.
MR. NESSEN: No, we are changing aircraft.
Q
Can we leave it earlier than 9 p.m. ?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, it will be safe to leave it
in the lobby.
Q
When will you get the hardware speech
for Monday?
MR. NESSEN: The hardware speech he plans to
review again on the plane from Kalispell to Chicago, and
as soon as we get to Chicago, we can type it and have it
ready in the press room, you know, fairly early tomorrow
evening.
MORE
#305
- 6 -
#305-8/23
Q
What kind of speech is that going to be?
MR. NESSEN: An economic speech.
Q
Pretty much nuts and bolts? (Laughter)
Q
What can you tell us about the report the
President got from Dr. Kissinger? Is it optimistic?
Where do we stand with this problem?
MR. NESSEN: I think, Bob, at this stage in
the middle of the negotiations, that I just think it is
better not to say anything.
Q
The speech at the White House Conference ---
is that prepared?
MR. NESSEN: Yes, and he will probably go over
that on the plane tomorrow.
THE PRESS: Thank you, Ron.
END
(AT 10:26 A.M. MDT)
#305