bully pulpit

noun

: a prominent public position (such as a political office) that provides an opportunity for expounding one's views

also : such an opportunity

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Bully vs Bully Pulpit

Bully pulpit comes from the 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, who observed that his time in office at the White House was a bully pulpit when he said, “I suppose my critics will call that preaching, but I have got such a bully pulpit!” For Roosevelt, bully was an adjective meaning “excellent” or “first-rate”—not today's familiar noun bully referring to an abusive meanie. 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 1960s, bully pulpit has been used as a term for a public position—especially a political office—that provides one with the opportunity to widely 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

Speaking to more than 200 people on the steps of the South Carolina State Capitol, Harris used her bully pulpit to rev up the crowd. —Erin B. Logan, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2024

Bass will need to keenly utilize the mayoral bully pulpit and other unofficial levers to move the ball forward. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023

Principal Deputy Solicitor General Brian Fletcher, representing the Biden administration, said government officials have long-standing authority to use the bully pulpit to inform and persuade. —Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024

Free speech advocates say the court should use the case to draw an appropriate line between the government’s acceptable use of the bully pulpit and coercive threats to free speech. —Mark Sherman, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Mar. 2024

President Joe Biden has used his bully pulpit to urge Congress to do more about gun violence. —Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 15 Feb. 2024

However, some implored Biden to use his bully pulpit more forcefully. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 8 Feb. 2024

But his plans this time around sound a lot more like someone who knows the powers of the presidency — the ways the executive branch and bully pulpit can be used, even weaponized. —Julia Azari, ABC News, 12 Dec. 2023

The court imposed unprecedented limits on the ability of the President’s closest aides to use the bully pulpit to address matters of public concern, on the FBI’s ability to address threats to the Nation’s security, and on the CDC’s ability to relay public health information at platforms’ request. —Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 15 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

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