drive a wedge

present singular third person drives a wedge · participle present driving a wedge · past drove a wedge · participle past driven a wedge

1. idiomaticoftenTo separate.
2. idiomaticoftenTo cause dispute or hostility between people.

   1 more example

   “German trade with China dwarfs all other member states, and Germany clearly drives policy on China in the E.U.,” said Theresa Fallon, director of the Center for Russia Europe Asia Studies in Brussels. Germany’s economic dependence on China “is driving a wedge in trans-Atlantic relations,” Ms. Fallon said.

   2021 September 17, Jack Ewing, Melissa Eddy, “Merkel Leaves the German Economy With Trouble Under the Hood”, in The New York Times