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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
Fox’s Kilmeade sorry for ‘just kill’ homeless remarkSpeed Read Kilmeade’s ‘rare on-air apology’ also served as Fox News’ response to the controversy
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spinsSpeed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meetingSpeed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
