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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Fears of a different kind of bully pulpit in Washington. —

Byandrew Nusca, Fortune, 3 Dec. 2024 And while Biden never used the bully pulpit to push for it, Manchin and Sinema were the chief obstacles to any kind of filibuster carve-out for voting rights or codifying Roe after the Dobbs disaster. —

Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024 By using his bully pulpit to draw public attention to the benefits of foreign investment for China’s development, Deng silenced critics of greater external involvement in China’s economic affairs. —

Joshua Eisenman, Foreign Affairs, 24 Sep. 2014 The Harris team’s push involves connecting the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol with Trump’s history of using the bully pulpit to attack the Federal Reserve as well as companies such as Amazon, Merck, Comcast, John Deere and Toyota. —

Fatima Hussein, Twin Cities, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bully pulpit