Ron Nessen, press secretary to President Ford, dies at 90

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Ron Nessen, press secretary to President Ford, dies at 90

2025-03-15 07:35 Last Updated At：11:04

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ron Nessen, a veteran broadcast journalist who was press secretary for President Gerald Ford and sought to restore the integrity that the position had lost during the Nixon administration, has died. He was 90.

Nessen died Wednesday in Bethesda, Maryland, his son, Edward Nessen, confirmed Friday.

Nessen replaced Jerald F. terHorst in September 1974 just six weeks into Ford’s presidency after terHorst resigned in protest over Ford’s pardon of former President Richard Nixon. Nessen had covered Ford’s tenure as vice president in the final months of a 12-year stint as a television correspondent with NBC News. He was the first journalist to come to the White House post from a broadcast background.

Nessen had developed a positive working relationship with Ford even though he asked difficult questions about the Watergate scandal as it eroded Nixon’s presidency. The position of press secretary, held then by Ron Ziegler, lacked credibility as the slow-moving scandal revealed a White House press operation that could not be trusted in its public pronouncements.

“I will never knowingly lie to you, never knowingly mislead the White House press corps,” Nessen, then 40, told reporters when he took over as Ford’s spokesman. He added, “If I do, you’d be justified in questioning my usefulness in this job.” He also said he saw his main duty as providing news and information to the American people, not selling the president’s policies or necessarily agreeing with them.

One prominent trait for the new press secretary was a sense of humor. (He told reporters on his first day, “I'm a Ron, not a Ziegler," a play off his boss' remark that “I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.”) But, by his own admission, Nessen was at times short-tempered, thin-skinned and sarcastic when dealing with journalists.

Nessen later pointed with pride to getting reporters more access to the president, including allowing follow-up questions at news conferences and having Ford appear on a live network television news program. The appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press” was a first for a president.

During his two years and four months as White House press secretary, Nessen may have drawn the most attention to himself by hosting television's “Saturday Night Live,” then in its initial season. He was the first “SNL” host to come from outside the entertainment world. The April 17, 1976, episode aired during Ford’s reelection bid and included taped appearances by the president, who likely hoped to come across as a good sport in the face of the show’s constant satirical jabs.

The post-broadcast criticism Nessen endured was mostly about the propriety and wisdom of a press secretary participating in a comedy show that skewered his boss, not Nessen's ability to deliver a punch line. He later said he worried privately that hosting had been an ego-driven mistake since the liberal-leaning show's skits continued mocking Ford as a bumbler and dullard.

Ronald H. Nessen was born May 25, 1934, in Washington. His father owned a general merchandise store in the city and his mother was its bookkeeper.

Nessen worked in radio as a high school student and while studying at Shepherd College in West Virginia and American University in Washington, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1959. During the 1950s, he was a newscaster for WEPM in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and WARL in Arlington, Virginia, and later reported for the Montgomery County Sentinel in Rockville, Maryland.

Nessen was a reporter and editor for United Press International in Washington from 1956-62, then joined NBC News as a television correspondent. He covered Lyndon Johnson's White House, civil rights and the 1964 presidential campaign and was sent to Vietnam five times, his first tour ending in a near-fatal chest wound from a grenade fragment. He also covered national affairs and international assignments for the network before focusing on the Ford vice presidency.

After Ford’s defeat by Jimmy Carter in 1976, Nessen turned to writing and freelance work. He was a top executive with the Washington public relations firm Marston & Rothenberg Public Affairs from 1980-84 before managing radio news operations for the Mutual Broadcasting System and the NBC Radio Network. He later worked as a public affairs executive for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the Brookings Institution.

He also wrote two memoirs, “It Sure Looks Different from the Inside” (1978) and “Making the News, Taking the News” (2011). He also wrote the novels “The First Lady” (1979) and “The Hour” (1984) as well as three mysteries in the 1990s co-written with his wife at the time, Johanna Neuman.

Looking back on his career change, Nessen acknowledged in his 2011 memoir that he wanted the job as Ford's spokesman in part to see what it was like to be a newsmaker. He concluded that he preferred the journalist’s role and wrote, “I’m more comfortable as an observer than as a participant.”

Nessen is survived by his son, daughter Caren Nessen, a sister, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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Daniel retired from The Associated Press in 2023. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Kissimmee, Florida, contributed to this report.

Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and issues new warning

2025-03-16 16:00 Last Updated At：16:10

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Iran-backed rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said at least 31 people were killed.

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”

He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy. It comes two weeks after the U.S. leader sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear program. Trump has said he will not allow it to become operational.

The Houthis reported explosions in their territory Saturday evening, in the capital of Sanaa and the northern province of Saada, the rebels’ stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia, with more airstrikes reported in those areas early Sunday. Images online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility. The Houthis also reported airstrikes early Sunday on the provinces of Hodeida, Bayda, and Marib.

The Houthi-run Health Ministry said early Sunday that the death toll had climbed to 31, including women and children. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the ministry, said Sunday that another 101 people were wounded.

A U.S. official said this was the beginning of air strikes on Houthi targets that are expected to continue. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the U.S. “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.

Another spokesman, Mohamed Abdulsalam, on X, called Trump’s claims that the Houthis threaten international shipping routes “false and misleading.”

The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing off Yemen in response to Israel’s latest blockade on Gaza. They described the warning as affecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.

There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.

Earlier this month, Israel halted all aid coming into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if their fragile ceasefire in the war isn’t extended as negotiations continue over starting a second phase.

The Houthis had targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when this ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

The attacks raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic and other problems at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that’s torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The Houthi media office said the U.S. strikes hit a residential neighborhood in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab. Residents said at least four airstrikes rocked the Eastern Geraf neighborhood there, terrifying women and children.

“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah al-Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”

The Eastern Geraf is home to Houthi-held military facilities and a headquarters for the rebels' political bureau, located in a densely populated area.

The Houthis reported fresh strikes on the southwestern Dhamar province late Saturday. They said the strikes hit the outskirts of the provincial capital, also named Dhamar, and the district of Abs.

The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Israel’s military declined to comment.

However, Saturday's operation was conducted solely by the U.S., according to a U.S. official. It was the first strike on the Yemen-based Houthis under the second Trump administration.

Such broad-based missile strikes against the Houthis were carried out multiple times by the Biden administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region.

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which includes the carrier, three Navy destroyers and one cruiser, are in the Red Sea and were part of Saturday's mission. The USS Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region.

Trump announced the strikes as he spent the day at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump said.

Baldor reported from Washington and Magdy reported from Cairo. AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller and AP writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.