Jimmy Carter Was Attacked By A Rabbit

Carter chose to take some time off and go fishing close to his home in Plains before running for (and losing) re-election in 1980. A wild rabbit that was being pursued by hounds jumped into the river and swam toward his boat while he was in it. With a paddle, Carter pushed the beast away. Carter's workers did not accept his story when he returned to his office, claiming that rabbits could not swim or that one would never approach a person threateningly. But a White House photographer had captured the incident on camera, and a later administration made the image public.

Even though it was only a minor occurrence, Carter's political and ideological foes used it to portray his presidency as hopeless and weakened, despite the fact that it was only a minor episode. Some people believed Carter was a less-than-ideal foe for the powerful Soviet Union due to a photograph of him wailing at the rabbit and countless editorial cartoons, which may have contributed to the perception of Carter as ineffective.