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
An otherwise enticing qualifier in Oslo has become a political football.
—
Phil Hay, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Never mind the fact that pretty much everyone with a social-media account was seeing the same video, in some cases sharing it, in some cases reducing Iryna to a political football.
—Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2025
Cricket, clearly the most popular sport in both countries, was then once again used as a political football.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
That's when the mission became a political football.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for political football
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Phil Hay, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Never mind the fact that pretty much everyone with a social-media account was seeing the same video, in some cases sharing it, in some cases reducing Iryna to a political football.
—Danielle Battaglia, Charlotte Observer, 22 Sep. 2025
Cricket, clearly the most popular sport in both countries, was then once again used as a political football.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
That's when the mission became a political football.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for political football
Cite this Entry
“Political football.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20football. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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