The Ronald Reagan camp injected the term into the political lexicon during the 1980 presidential campaign by talking ceaselessly of its expectation that President Jimmy Carter would exercise the power of his office to produce an event—perhaps the release of the American hostages in Iran—timed to derive maximum political benefit for the Democratic ticket. The Reagan managers hoped to undercut the impact of such a surprise by warning of it in advance and calling into question the motives behind it. No surprise materialized.

From Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Allusions.