The Bully Pulpit

Theodore Roosevelt, who became President in 1901, called the White House a bully pulpit, using bully in its period sense of excellent. Nineteenth-century Presidents rarely gave policy speeches to the public, which many considered undignified demagoguery, and communicated with Congress mostly in writing. Roosevelt used speeches, press relations, and national tours to rally support for railroad regulation and conservation, and Woodrow Wilson went further in 1913 by delivering his annual message to Congress in person, reviving a practice abandoned since Thomas Jefferson.

Each new medium reshaped the bully pulpit. Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats, beginning March 12, 1933, brought the President's voice into American homes by radio, and John F. Kennedy held the first live televised press conference in 1961. Ronald Reagan used televised Oval Office addresses to build pressure on Congress for his budget and tax plans in 1981. Political scientist Samuel Kernell called this strategy going public, appealing over the heads of lawmakers to the voters who elect them. Barack Obama became the first President with an official social media account in 2015, and Donald Trump made direct posting a central tool of governing.

Scholars disagree about how well the bully pulpit works. Political scientist George C. Edwards III found that presidential speeches rarely change public opinion and can harden opposition by making issues more partisan, while others say Presidents succeed in setting the agenda, focusing attention, and mobilizing their own supporters. Social media has raised new questions, including a 2019 appeals court ruling that a President could not block critics from an official account. Supporters say direct communication bypasses media filters, while critics say it rewards division over persuasion.