bully pulpit
noun
Did you know?
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
Caitlin Owens, Axios, 20 Dec. 2024
And Trump has used his bully pulpit as a former and soon-to-be president to address major international developments — such as the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria — in posts on social media and in interviews with the press.
—Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for bully pulpit 
Dictionary Entries Near bully pulpit
Cite this Entry
“Bully pulpit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bully%20pulpit. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share