play politics

1. Act for personal or political gain rather than principle, as in I don't think this judge is fair—he's playing politics. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Vullo, to demonstrate it can be evenhanded and will not play politics with the First Amendment.

From Salon

“I can't survive without Medicare yet when the time came to protect and fund Medicare, Congresswoman Kaptur voted no. A bipartisan vote and Marcy Kaptur chose to play politics instead of standing up for us,” the narrator states.

From Salon

Their leader Jane Dodds said her deal to pass the Welsh government's budget last month showed she would not "play politics" with people's lives.

From BBC

Later in 2020, Trump attempted to play politics with federal emergency relief funds.

From Salon

“You can do real policy work and not just play politics with it.”

From Los Angeles Times