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

But this policy may rebound on the Pakistani government, succeeding only in causing further chaos—all while turning human beings into a political football to be flung across the border. —Aqil Shah, Foreign Affairs, 9 Jan. 2024

China hawks in the House have propped TikTok on a political football tee, passing legislation that threatens to kick it off the phones of millions of Americans unless TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, sells its ownership in the app. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024

But his death became a political football whose uses were difficult to foresee at the time. —Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024

The facts did not matter to those using the board and my appointment as a political football. —Nina Jankowicz, Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb. 2024

Multi-year operational budgets for government agencies will lower the costs of these contracts and prevent politicians from using government services as a political football. —Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 5 Feb. 2024

Trump, DeSantis play political football Several presidential candidates converged in Iowa on Saturday to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Iowa State Cyclones -- but the political stunts surrounding the football game at times drew attention away from the main event. —Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2023

The decision will surely become a political football during this wild political season. —Robert Litan, Foreign Affairs, 16 Mar. 2016

TikTok — owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance — has been a political football for several years, targeted by American lawmakers who are wary over its ties to China and how TikTok handles user data. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Dec. 2023