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
History Ending the car tax has been a political football for more than 30 years.
—
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024
Yet the November cut remains and funding for cultural organizations remains a political football in the budget debate.
—Coco Killingsworth, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2024
Overnight, the vaquita became a political football.
—Erik Vance, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2017
Instead, over the years, lawmakers have often used the polarizing issue as a political football.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 4 June 2024
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
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024
Yet the November cut remains and funding for cultural organizations remains a political football in the budget debate.
—Coco Killingsworth, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2024
Overnight, the vaquita became a political football.
—Erik Vance, Scientific American, 1 Aug. 2017
Instead, over the years, lawmakers have often used the polarizing issue as a political football.
—Gillian Brassil, Sacramento Bee, 4 June 2024
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'political football.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Political football.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/political%20football. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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