State Department forced to rebuke Trump's unhinged new lawyer Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani made a major foreign policy gaffe regarding American hostages in North Korea. And it was embarrassing enough that Trump’s State Department was forced to publicly repudiate him.

On Monday afternoon, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told the Associated Press that Giuliani “speaks for himself and not on behalf of the administration on foreign policy.”

Nauert was responding to remarks Giuliani made last Thursday regarding the hostages, during his unhinged interview on “Fox & Friends.”

At one point, Giuliani blurted out something that had no apparent basis in reality.

“We got Kim Jong Un impressed enough to be releasing three prisoners today,” he insisted.

By Thursday afternoon, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was forced to backpedal his statement. “We cannot confirm the validity” of Giuliani’s claim, she told reporters.

On Saturday, Giuliani noticeably modified his prediction. “There is a good chance that the three long-time hostages in North Korea will be released over the next several days,” he said.

Giuliani isn’t alone in his blatantly unprofessional handling of this delicate diplomatic issue.

On Wednesday, Trump teased the possible release of those hostages like he was promoting a reality show, telling followers to “Stay tuned!”

He also tried to blame President Obama for the hostages’ predicament, even though two of the three were detained after Trump had taken office.

Thus despite Giuliani’s damaging media blitz, Trump apparently thinks his new attorney is doing a great job. Giuliani says Trump is “very happy” with the way things have been going.

But Nauert’s rebuke shows that this bumbling from Trump and Giuliani is quite serious. Trump is handling negotiations that can have life-or-death consequences as though they were a television cliffhanger. And Giuliani just inserts himself into them on a whim, with no apparent concern for facts.

Rudy Giuliani is free to damage Trump all he wants, but U.S. foreign policy is no laughing matter.