Marco Rubio is burning bridges with important Republicans


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]
That coveted endorsement, of course, eventually went to Donald Trump.
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.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media
-
Trump pardons Virginia sheriff convicted of bribery
speed read Former sheriff Scott Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal bribery and fraud charges
-
Germany lifts Kyiv missile limits as Trump, Putin spar
speed read Russia's biggest drone and missile attacks of the war prompted Trump to post that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders