By PatD, a Trail Mix Contributor
Wiki tells us that a bully pulpit is a conspicuous position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to. This term was coined by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who referred to his office as a “bully pulpit”, by which he meant a terrific platform from which to advocate an agenda. Roosevelt used the word bully as an adjective meaning “superb” or “wonderful”, a more common usage at that time.
The tweet is the current president’s platform, less a pulpit from which to inform but more to bully. In addition, we are told not to take the tweets as statements of statesmanship. Not policy, not written for the ages and, perhaps, not even truthful.
On CNN Sebastian Gorka, a White House national security aide, says the President’s tweets are only social media, not policy. When asked about Trump’s controversial remarks in an interview on Monday’s NBC Today Show Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway decried the media for its “obsession with covering everything [Trump] says on Twitter and very little of what he does as president.” [….]
When pressed further on Trump’s tweets, Conway said she wasn’t going to “let [the president] be seen as the perpetrator here,” and argued that the media should be less focused on Trump’s social media presence and the on-going Russia scandal and more concerned about the recent string of attacks ISIS has either inspired or directed.
NBC’s Guthrie argued that as president, Trump’s statements on Twitter carry a great deal of weight and are considered a reflection of his agenda.
Spicer: Trump tweets “official”
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