political football

noun

: an issue that politicians argue about and try to use for their advantage

This issue is too important to be treated as a political football.

Examples of political football in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While the lawsuit has become a hot-button news topic and political football, Bonta once again framed it as a simple suit. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

Ending the car tax has been a political football for more than 30 years as multiple governors have offered plans on how to cut the taxes while making sure towns are fully reimbursed. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 26 July 2026

The political football that has been tossed around has been CNN, and some reporting indicated that Bonta may be OK with the outcome should Paramount agree to sell the news network and not bring it under CBS News and Bari Weiss. — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 14 July 2026

The crisis of runaway production, both in California and nationwide, never seems to stray too far from the headlines thanks to what a political football the issue has become. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 10 July 2026

Rhymes for political football

• mercaptoethanol
• aerosol
• alcohol
• arbitral
• basketball
• butanol
• cannonball
• carbinol
• cortisol
• ethanol
• fireball
• gasohol