In 1969, when he was just 29, Ziegler became the youngest White House Press Secretary in history, serving in the Nixon Administration. He was also the first press secretary to use the White House Press Briefing Room when it was completed in 1970. Historically, White House press secretaries had been recruited from the ranks of individuals with substantial journalistic experience, such as Stephen Early and Pierre Salinger, raising the question of whether Ziegler was qualified for his position. The hiring of Ziegler was seen by many, and later confirmed by Haldeman himself, as a cog in Nixon's plan to undermine the press; Ziegler's ability to execute the chief of staff's directions was impressive, allowing him to hold a senior position throughout the administration. Ziegler was the White House press secretary during the political scandal known as Watergate. In 1972, he dismissed the first report of the break-in at the Watergate Hotel as a "third-rate burglary attempt", and repeatedly dismissed reports by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post, but within two years, Nixon had resigned under threat of impeachment. Ziegler apologized to the Washington Post for having been so dismissive. At a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention on August 20, 1973, Nixon was photographed angrily pushing Ziegler toward a crowd of reporters. The president was incensed that Ziegler was not doing enough to keep members of the press away as Nixon entered the convention hall. In 1974, Ziegler became Assistant to the President. Particularly in the period following the resignations of such senior administration officials as Bob Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Ziegler became one of Nixon's closest aides and confidants. During the impeachment process against Nixon, he defended the president until the bitter end, urging Nixon not to resign, but rather fight conviction and removal from office in the Senate. During the unfolding political scandal, Ziegler appeared before Congress at least 33 times.
Post-Watergate
Unlike many other former aides following President Nixon's resignation in 1974, Ziegler remained very close to him. Ziegler was on the plane that Nixon took to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, near San Clemente, California, as Gerald Ford was sworn into office. On November 12, 1999, Ziegler was scheduled to participate by telephone in a television panel discussion that included several former Nixon and Ford aides, including his successor as White House Press Secretary, Jerald terHorst, who had resigned in protest at President Ford's pardon of Nixon. However, Ziegler's feed failed to hook up for the session, which went on without him.
Business activities and achievements
In 1988, Ziegler became president and chief executive of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, living in Alexandria, Virginia. He had previously served as president of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators. He was described by leading truck stop advocate William Fay as "a significant factor in expanding the travel plaza and truckstop industry's presence in the nation's capital." Hay further credited Ziegler as having achieved "great strides in membership recruitment and expansion of member services."
Personal life
In 1961, Ziegler married Nancy Plessinger, with whom he had two children, Cindy and Laurie. Ziegler moved to Coronado Shores in Coronado, California, where he died of a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 63.
In popular culture
Ziegler appears in the 1976 film All the President's Men as himself in archival news footage. He is portrayed in the 1995 Oliver Stone film Nixon by David Paymer. The West Wing character Toby Ziegler was named after him.
