Kerry is visiting the UK to promote his book and will be speaking at a Guardian Live event in London on Thursday night.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Kerry spoke of "a dearth of a leadership on a global basis" adding: "Every country is feeling the pressure of this nationalistic populist and in some cases very frightening rightwing advance."
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you He said: "I was appalled that rain drops prevented the president from going to pay honour to those that died in rain, gas, snow and mud. That was the reason he came to Paris."
Trump refused to attend the rain-swept ceremony citing concerns that his helicopter could not fly due to the weather, and his belief that if he travelled by car, the Paris traffic would be severely disrupted.
Kerry said: "People are tired of the embarrassment of what took place in Paris in the last few days. We cannot have a truculent child president. We need something serious."
