Marco Rubio is burning bridges with important Republicans

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last updated 27 February 2016

Some Republicans are beginning to fear Marco Rubio is the only hope against the Donald Trump behemoth — a concern rooted, perhaps, in the fact that Rubio doesn't appear to be very good at making friends. In a delve into the Republican side of the presidential race, it was revealed by The New York Times that Rubio had actually reached out to Chris Christie for an endorsement, but accidentally offended the New Jersey governor:

...Mr. Rubio made a tentative overture to Mr. Christie after his withdrawal from the presidential race. He left the governor a voice mail message, seeking Mr. Christie's support and assuring him that he had a bright future in public service, according to people who have heard Mr. Christie's characterization of the message.Mr. Christie, 53, took the message as deeply disrespectful and patronizing, questioning why "a 44-year-old" was telling him about his future, said people who described his reaction on the condition of anonymity. Further efforts to connect the two never yielded a direct conversation. [The New York Times]

Rubio has apparently botched endorsement efforts with Jeb Bush, too — a short phone call with Bush after the suspension of his campaign "did not last long" and Rubio did not ask for an endorsement. Mitt Romney also reportedly flirted with the idea of a Rubio endorsement, but pulled back and decided to take on Trump more directly.

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And don't bother looking to John Kasich instead — many Republicans in Washington are just hoping he will drop out and quit distracting from the effort to take down Trump. "He's just flailing his arms around and having a wonderful time going around the country, and it just drives me up the wall," one senior Republican senator said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.