after Former President Jimmy Carter dies at the age of 100Many remember the “Killer Rabbit” incident in which Carter had to fight off a rampaging swamp creature while hunting in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
The bizarre incident occurred in April 1979, but was not known to the public until months later, when a press officer shared the story with reporter Brooks Jackson, according to an account by then-White House Press Secretary Jody Powell. After the story spread, it captured the American imagination and came to be seen as a symbol of revolution Carter presidencyWhich many considered ineffective and faltering.
Sensational headlines spread across the country, such as “The Rabbit Goes Bugs. Rabbit Attacks the President” in the Washington Post, and “The Story of Carter and the Killer Rabbit” in the New York Times.
Tributes flow from lawmakers in Congress after Jimmy Carter's death: 'Great humanitarian'
Former President Jimmy Carter discusses his cancer diagnosis during a press conference at the Carter Center on August 20, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
The story, supported by a photo taken by a White House staffer, goes that Carter, while hunting near the plains, suddenly noticed a large swamp rabbit swimming quickly toward him. “This huge, wet animal, making strange hissing sounds and gnashing its teeth, intended to board the presidential boat,” Powell said. Carter used a paddle to spray water at the creature, causing it to change course and swim away.
New York Times A newspaper reported in August 1979 that the rabbit “infiltrated Secret Service security and attacked President Carter,” forcing him to “strike the animal with a canoe paddle.” “The president was swinging for his life,” the outlet quoted a White House staffer as saying.
The photo was not released by the White House until after Carter lost his re-election bid Ronald Reagan In 1980, it shows the now-deceased president splashing water while a large rabbit, its ears sticking out of the water, swims away.
Jimmy Carter, former US President, is remembered in the world of sports after death
United States President Jimmy Carter in a boat in Plains, Georgia, chasing a swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus). This led to the “Jimmy Carter Rabbit Incident.” Image source: Jerry Kalin. President Jimmy Carter and the “Killer Rabbit.” Narsil.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Image courtesy of the Jimmy Carter Library. (Public domain image courtesy of the Jimmy Carter Library)
Carter's account of the incident is somewhat less dramatic. “It was a rabbit being chased by hounds,” said the deceased chief, “and he jumped into the water and swam toward my boat. When he got close, I splashed some water with the paddle, and the rabbit turned and went and crawled out onto the boat.” “The other side.”
But that did not prevent national and local media from spreading the “killer rabbit” story everywhere.
In 1979, Carter was in the middle of his one-term presidency. He was facing many difficulties at home and abroad, including the energy crisis, economic issues, and the hostage crisis in Iran. Amid these problems, Carter's approval ratings declined dramatically, and he reached the highest disapproval ratings of his entire presidency.
US President Jimmy Carter announces new sanctions against Iran in response to the taking of American hostages, at the White House in Washington, April 7, 1980. Library of Congress/Marion S. Tricusco/Handout via Reuters.
While newspaper accounts of the “Banzai Rabbit” and caricatures of giant rabbits with fairy teeth were clearly fictional, many have come to see the whole story as a kind of metaphor for Carter's faltering presidency.
Powell, who initially thought the incident was an innocent comedy, said he later regretted his decision to share it with the press because of the way it was used to portray the president as so weak and incompetent that he was. Scared of the rabbit.
Powell described the events as a “nightmare” in his 1985 memoir, “The Other Side of the Story.”
“It still makes my body cringe when I think I could have been so foolish,” he wrote. “I thought it was funny.” “If I had been doing my job, I would have stopped the president at that moment and pointed out the risks to him and his administration if such a story emerged. … Unfortunately, I did no such thing.”
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March 24, 1979 – Elk City, Oklahoma: President Jimmy Carter addresses a city meeting.
Carter, a Democrat, served as the nation's 39th president from 1977 to 1981. He was the longest-living president in U.S. history, having died at the age of 100 at his home in Plains on December 29 at 3:45 p.m. Christian, Carter was known for Great humanitarian efforts After his presidency, he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
