Bully vs Bully Pulpit

Bully pulpit comes from the 26th U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that the White House was a bully pulpit. For Roosevelt, bully was an adjective meaning "excellent" or "first-rate"—not the noun bully ("a blustering, browbeating person") that's so common today. Roosevelt understood the modern presidency's power of persuasion and recognized that it gave the incumbent the opportunity to exhort, instruct, or inspire. He took full advantage of his bully pulpit, speaking out about the danger of monopolies, the nation's growing role as a world power, and other issues important to him. Since the 1970s, bully pulpit has been used as a term for an office—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to share one's views.

Examples of bully pulpit in a Sentence

She uses her position as a famous actress as a bully pulpit.

Recent Examples on the Web But voting rights groups say that Mr. Biden is not expending sufficient political capital or using the full force of his bully pulpit to persuade Congress. — New York Times, 22 July 2021 The president also took the chance from the bully pulpit to put pressure on Congress to extend the tax cut -- since it's set to expire in after a year. — Sarah Kolinovsky, ABC News, 15 July 2021 President Joe Biden was in Philadelphia Tuesday using his bully pulpit to warn that right to vote is under assault. — Mabinty Quarshie, USA TODAY, 13 July 2021 The governor’s use of the bully pulpit also demonstrates the powerful advantage incumbents wield over their opponents in positive economic times. — Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2021 Republicans have been drumming up allegations of voter fraud for over a decade to justify voting restrictions in the states and Trump, wielding the power of the bully pulpit, used it to great effect in 2020. — Julian Zelizer, CNN, 1 July 2021 The role of president is primarily a bully pulpit, but the president does have the power to make committee appointments that can then set the direction of the denomination. — BostonGlobe.com, 15 June 2021 There is a loud species of comic who has no muse but grievance politics, who makes the stage a bully pulpit. — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021 Even the elevation of the bully pulpit in the 20th century meant that the president, through his words, could affect public opinion in dramatic fashion. — Julian Zelizer, CNN, 11 June 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bully pulpit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.