Jimmy Carter rabbit incident

On April 20, 1979, during a few days of vacation in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Carter was fishing in a johnboat (sometimes erroneously described as a canoe) in a pond on his farm, when he saw a swamp rabbit, which Carter later speculated was fleeing from a predator, swimming in the water and making its way towards him, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared", On August 30, Carter told reporters that it "was just a nice, quiet, typical Georgia rabbit." University of Maryland zoologist Vagn Flyger rejected the idea of the rabbit attacking Carter, saying that, "If anything, he was probably scared and trying to find a dry place to get to." == White House staff reaction ==

In the spring of 1979, soon after returning from Plains, Jimmy Carter was making small talk with various White House staff, including his press secretary Jody Powell, while sitting on the Truman Balcony, when he mentioned the story. His staff were skeptical about the actions of the rabbit, so he showed them a print of the photograph, which clearly showed him and the boat, but the rabbit was too small to identify, so he got a larger version, which convinced them. == Media reception of story ==

According to Powell, in the subsequent August, Powell was chatting with Associated Press White House correspondent Brooks Jackson – according to Powell's memory, over a cup of tea, but according to Carter, "in a bar after a lot of drinking had gone on" – and mentioned the story. (Their eagerness to publish the story may have been a result of a dearth of other news. News coverage of the incident continued for more than a week. == Media reception of photograph ==

No news photographers were allowed to be close enough to take photographs, and the Carter administration refused to share the photograph. Deputy press secretary Rex Granum said that "There are just certain stories about the president that must forever remain shrouded in mystery." News cartoonists instead drew their own illustrations, exaggerating the story. == Cultural impact ==

The media used the event as a metaphor to negatively portray Carter. In the subsequent elections, Carter lost to Ronald Reagan, and Republicans won a majority in the Senate, which they had not had since 1954. ==See also==