Donald Trump Should Resign, Former Top Diplomat John Kerry Says at Davos World Economic Forum

Speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an annual event where the global elite meet to discuss topics like poverty and economic inequality, former Secretary of State John Kerry issued a one-word message to President Donald Trump: "Resign."

Kerry made the comment during his talk on Tuesday, when a reporter asked him what he would say to Trump if the president were sitting next to him.

"He doesn't take any of this seriously," Kerry added, noting that Trump "doesn't have the ability" to have serious conversations. He also slammed Trump's decision to abandon the commitments made in the Paris Climate Accords, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. shortly after taking office. "People will die because of the president's decisions," he noted.

Trump had canceled his trip to Davos due to the government shutdown, which he has insisted on prolonging until Democrats in Congress agree to fund a border wall on the southern border of the U.S. at a cost of more than $5 billion. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and Chinese President Xi Jinping also skipped the event, in a sign that domestic issues are taking priority over international ones.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a brief teleconference appearance during the event on Tuesday, where he told the audience that Trump was willing to look hard problems in the face. "Disruption is a positive development," Pompeo said.

But during her speech at the event's opening on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a full-throated defense of the liberal world order. She also appeared to cast doubt on Trump's "America first" approach.

"Let us not avoid the issue. We have certain institutions that set global guidelines, and then we have to accept realities and inform them…. But there is a new approach that we see today, an approach that harbors great doubts as to the validity of the international system. They say, 'Shouldn't we look after our own? Shouldn't we look after our own interests first?' And then, out of that develops an order that is good for everyone," Merkel said during her talk.

"I have my grave doubts that this is the right way to go about it. I think our national interest, well, we should understand them in such a way that we remember that others also have their own vested interests, factor them in, and then shape a win-win situation that will guide us in international politics," she added.

Merkel's assessment of disruption was also far less positive than Pompeo's, and she noted that uncertainty and risk could stymie economic growth.

The audience at Davos clapped and laughed in response to Kerry's call for Trump's resignation, signaling that at least some audience members supported the sentiment.