Popular Press
A Bully in the Presidential Bully Pulpit
Anthropology News
(2017)
Abstract
From Theodore Roosevelt onward, American presidents employed the presidential bully pulpit to advocate and promote their political agendas. But under the presidency of Donald Trump, that advocacy-oriented bully pulpit as originally conceived by Roosevelt has morphed into a crude platform to engage in bullying behavior. Part of the problem is that Trump’s tweets are too often accepted by his supporters as sufficient arguments rather than the degrading ad hominem attacks they typically are. Rather than critiquing the message (news coverage) in a way that might raise genuine concerns supported by thoughtful reasons and evidence, Trump’s tweets merely insult the messengers (journalists) in an attempt to shift focus from the message. So how should we respond to this hijacking of the presidential bully pulpit? What roles can citizens, journalists, and politicians play to stop the bullying by a man who holds the power of the presidency?
Keywords
- cyberbullying,
- bullying,
- bully pulpit,
- political discourse,
- Donald Trump,
- Theodore Roosevelt,
- insults,
Disciplines
Publication Date
August 10, 2017
DOI
10.1111/AN.569
Publisher Statement
Copyright 2017 American Anthropological Association
Citation Information
Adam Hodges. "A Bully in the Presidential Bully Pulpit" Anthropology News Vol. 58 Iss. 4 (2017) p. e282 - e285 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/adamhodges/77/