It was August 1979, and President Jimmy Carter was taking some time off before the 1980 campaign began in earnest. In Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States, he names it the uncontested single most memorable event of Carter's presidency. Because people thought that Carter was actually being attacked? It also exlplores President Carter's interest in UFO's after he claimed to have witnested a UFO in 1969.Also explores the 70's with appearances from Jeff Carter, Ron Covitch and others. "I never did hit the rabbit," President Carter earnestly told the sniggering press corps in Plains, Georgia. IIRC a large rabbit tried to climb aboard Jimmy Carter’s boat while he was fishing, and Carter fended it off with an oar. President Carter was forced to swat at the vicious beast with a canoe paddle, which apparently scared it off. By the time that his security got there, Billy had gone into shock, and Jimmy Carter was in a stupor, from the rabbit bite. Picture courtesy of the Jimmy Carter Library. IIRC a large rabbit tried to climb aboard Jimmy Carter’s boat while he was fishing, and Carter fended it off with an oar. President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat on April 20, 1979.. The White House did not publicly release a photograph of the event until much later, and the Post printed a cartoon parody of the Jaws poster labeled "PAWS" as its illustration. :-) Still - … The incident with the rabbit became fodder for political and ideological opponents who wanted to frame Carter's presidency as hapless and enfeebled,[7] although the event's proximity to the U.S. release of the comedy feature film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which includes scenes of a killer rabbit slaying humans, led to some people describing Carter as having "fended off a killer rabbit" instead. 2010: Jimmy Carter v. the 'Killer Rabbit' In 2010, CNN's Howard Kurtz asked President Jimmy Carter about a 1979 fishing trip involving a panicked rabbit mentioned in … The upshot: Carter was no longer a liar, but still a clown. The rabbit, which may have been fleeing a predator, swam toward his boat, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared." Timothy Dickinson tells us the story of Jimmy Carter vs the killer rabbit. "I just splashed water towards him." It looks like there's an issue with JavaScript in your browser. Chris Cillizza. [2] But a White House photographer had taken a picture of the incident, which was released by a later administration.[3]. President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat on April 20, 1979. Because people thought that Carter was actually being attacked? President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat on April 20, 1979. Why was so much made of this? President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a killer rabbit while fishing in a boat. :-) Still - … The Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, sensationalized as a "killer rabbit attack" by the press, involved a swamp rabbit that swam toward then–U.S. The animal was clearly in distress, or perhaps berserk. The incident in question took place in 1979 when […] President Carter was fishing in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on April 20, 1979, alone in a flat-bottomed boat while staff were on land nearby. While vacationing at his farm in Plains, Georgia, he decided to take in some fishing and relax. The incident caught the imagination of the media after Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, mentioned the event to a correspondent months later. Note: While some presidential apologists have suggested that Carter might actually have been attacked by a nutria, a large, aggressive aquatic rodent, others have insisted that the President's assailant was a simple, if unusually vicious, bunny rabbit. We take on a former President of the USA, and one particularly vicious rabbit. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Jimmy Carter Attacked By Swimming Rabbit Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 6:30PM While pond fishing in Plains, Georgia in the spring of 1979, Jimmy Carter reported to his staff that he was confronted by a swimming rabbit and further claimed that the animal was intent on … But Carter wasn’t that kind of guy. I suspect this is a common question, and I also suspect that the standard answer is "No, and we wouldn't tell you if it were anyway." The incident caught press imagination after Carter's press secretary mentioned the event to a corres Anyone remember the ‘Killer Rabbit’ incident? We like to call these great and telling tales because they are. Today in History: Jimmy Carter Attacked by Killer Rabbit (April 20, 1979) News of the Odd ^ | April 20, 2005 Posted on 04/19/2005 10:08:17 PM PDT by RWR8189. By . President Jimmy Carter's fishing boat on April 20, 1979. Chris Cillizza. The killer rabbit had brought Carter to me. The incident became popular in the media after Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, mentioned the event to a correspondent months later. The rabbit dust-up was incredibly damaging to the Carter presidency and was used by his political opponents to defeat him in the 1980 election. Bio. It was August 1979, and President Jimmy Carter … (Was he? I suspect this is a common question, and I also suspect that the standard answer is "No, and we wouldn't tell you if it were anyway." Historical Context. He was fishing on a lake near his home in … Jimmy Carter Attacked by Killer Rabbit (April 20, 1979) Today in Odd History, President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit during a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia. Jimmy Carter was fishing peacefully when the attack took place. Skip to comments. Today in Odd History, President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit during a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia. Humor columnist Dave Barry has often referred to the "enormous swimming rabbit" incident in his writings. Worried about upsetting the animal rights and environmental lobbies, Carter denied reports that he had hit the rabbit with his paddle. The average politician would have said, goddamit, I’m president of the United States and I say it was a rabbit. 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Now, on Easter Monday, we have a seasonal yet non-denominational puzzle involving a bunny rabbit — the “Killer Rabbit,” as the media dubbed it, that tried to board President Jimmy Carter’s boat as he was fishing at a pond in Plains, Georgia, in 1979. Not one of your cutesy, Easter Bunny-type rabbits, but one of those big splay-footed things that we called swamp rabbits when I was growing up. In 2010, CNN's Howard Kurtz asked President Jimmy Carter about a 1979 fishing trip involving a panicked rabbit mentioned in his book, "White House Diary. Anyone remember the ‘Killer Rabbit’ incident? https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/jimmy-carter-vs-killer-rabbit-video Because Monty Python And The Holy Grail was still fresh in people’s minds? This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. The Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, also known as a "killer rabbit attack" by the press, involved a swamp rabbit that swam toward then–U.S. Today in Odd History, President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit during a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia. March 9, 2017 at 2:10 p.m. UTC. In 2010, CNN's Howard Kurtz asked President Jimmy Carter about a 1979 fishing trip involving a panicked rabbit mentioned in … The incident caught the imagination of the media after Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, mentioned the event to a correspondent months later. Greetings, Jimmy Carter Library folks. There is a large photo of Jimmy Carter and the rabbit at the Freepers page above. Fulk, the 12th century king of Jerusalem, was killed by a rabbit. Although Jimmy Carter was a one-term president, he is remembered for many things, like the Iran hostage crisis, the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the late-70s energy crisis - and being attacked by a "killer rabbit" on April 20, 1979. Posted on 08/29/2003 3:03:45 PM PDTby NC Conservative. Greetings, Jimmy Carter Library folks. Jimmy Carter was once attacked by a rabbit. 2010: Jimmy Carter v. the 'Killer Rabbit'. The incident was parodied in 1980 by folk singer Tom Paxton in the song "I Don't Want a Bunny Wunny." Jimmy Carter’s encounter with an angry swamp rabbit in the spring of 1979 lasted only a moment. More details. the infamous rabbit attack and the conspiracies surounding it are explored in this documentary. Reporter. Four years after the release of the movie, Killer Rabbit was the term used widely by the press to describe the swamp rabbit that "attacked" then U.S. President Jimmy Carter while he was fishing on a farm pond. 1979 incident in which Jimmy Carter was attacked by a swamp rabbit, "President Jimmy Carter and the "killer rabbit, "What was the deal with Jimmy Carter and the killer rabbit? Associated Press correspondent Brooks Jackson's story on the incident was published August 30, 1979, in various newspapers, including on the front page of The Washington Post with the title "Bunny Goes Bugs: Rabbit Attacks President." [4][5][6] The White House declined to release the photo to the media until it turned up during the Reagan administration and the story saw a revival. The President confessed to having had limited experience with enraged rabbits. He swung an oar at the beast and it jumped up and bit him on the neck, creating Vampire Jimmy Carter. Carter biographer Douglas Brinkley says, It just played up the Carter flake factor…. Last in this season! It's the unofficial start of summer, which means it's as good a time as any to revisit one of the greatest vacation moments in American history: when President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit. "[1], When Carter returned to his office, his staff did not believe his story, saying rabbits could not swim, or that one would never approach a person threateningly. This means you're free to copy and share these comics (but not to sell them). Why was so much made of this? As Carter was on a solo fishing expedition in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, when a rabbit that was being chased by hounds jumped into the water near him and … The Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, dubbed the "killer rabbit" attack by the media, involved a swamp rabbit that swam toward then–U.S. Now, on Easter Monday, we have a seasonal yet non-denominational puzzle involving a bunny rabbit — the “Killer Rabbit,” as the media dubbed it, that tried to board President Jimmy Carter’s boat as he was fishing at a pond in Plains, Georgia, in 1979. The event was photographed. The rabbit, which may have been fleeing a predator, swam toward his boat, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared." What was obvious, however, was that this large, wet animal, making strange hissing noises and gnashing its teeth, was intent upon climbing into the Presidential boat. Cecil Adams' Straight Dope says: The rabbit incident happened on April 20 while Carter was taking a few days off in Plains, Georgia. Jimmy Carter’s encounter with an angry swamp rabbit in the spring of 1979 lasted only a moment. It was August 1979, and in one of the more bizarre moments of a frankly very eccentric presidency, Jimmy Carter had just been attacked by an aquatic “killer rabbit” while on holiday in his home state. Comic-strip spoofs of the episode appeared, one of them starring “Paws,” a sharklike rabbit menace. The president had been unmanned. One thing I did know, however, was that President Jimmy Carter was attacked by an aquatic Killer Rabbit. The Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, sensationalized as a "killer rabbit attack" by the press, involved a swamp rabbit that swam toward then–U.S. When he got almost there, I splashed some water with a paddle. Which makes the story of the time President Jimmy Carter was attacked by one all the more hilarious. Carter repeatedly stated that he had not used his oars to beat the animal, but to splash water at him to back away. The incident caught the imagination of the media after Carter's press secretary, Jody Powell, mentioned the event to a correspondent months later. Jimmy Carter and the Killer Rabbit I didn't live in the US in 1979, and my knowledge of the doings of presidents was limited. The Jimmy Carter rabbit incident, sensationalized as a "killer rabbit attack" by the press, involved a swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) that swam toward then–U.S. In Apple Inc.'s iOS system, Siri may say that the "Rabbit of Caerbannog" is its favorite animal when asked. Because Monty Python And The Holy Grail was still fresh in people’s minds? The incident crystallized an emerging… In his 1986 book The Other Side of the Story, Powell recounted the story: Upon closer inspection, the animal turned out to be a rabbit. Is the infamous picture of President Carter being attacked by a rabbit while fishing available from the Library? Carter said a rabbit being chased by hounds "jumped in the water and swam toward my boat. How can you have forgotten the “Killer Rabbit” which attacked President Jimmy Carter in April 1979. He was unable to reach a definite conclusion about its state of mind. (Was he? It was then that I had an inkling of what was going on. Carter had to fight the rabbit off with a wooden boat oar when it attacked his boat. It was August 1979, and in one of the more bizarre moments of a frankly very eccentric presidency, Jimmy Carter had just been attacked by an aquatic "killer rabbit" while on holiday in his home state. The rabbit then leaped into the water and swam at Jimmy Carter's boat, in which Jimmy Carter was defenseless. On a boat. Jimmy Carter & the Killer Rabbit July 8, 2010 by Lisa Waller Rogers It was late in the day on April 20, 1979, and U.S. President Jimmy Carter was enjoying a needed break from the pressures of the presidency. He ordered a blowup made, establishing at last that his attacker was, well, a bunny, or “swamp rabbit,” to use press secretary Jody … How Jimmy Carter's Face-Off with The Rabbit Changed the Presidency By Jim O'Grady Of all the crises that President Carter faced in 1979 -- gas shortages, hostage-taking, runaway inflation -- his bizarre encounter with a crazed swimming rabbit on a Georgia lake was as damaging as any to his image. Thanks for watching, everyone! ", Support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War, A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident&oldid=989207780, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 November 2020, at 17:40. Is the infamous picture of President Carter being attacked by a rabbit while fishing available from the Library? We think it’s safe to say that nobody in human history has ever looked at a rabbit and thought “That thing could take me in a fist fight”. Was attacked by a rabbit n't Want a Bunny Wunny. thought Carter. Inkling of what was going on 2.5 License in Plains, Georgia swung an oar at vicious... Incident crystallized an emerging… this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License enormous swimming rabbit '' in! 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