Secretary of State John Kerry implored former National Security Agency contractor and world-renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden to return to his home country. 

On Wednesday, Kerry told the fugitive Snowden to "man up and come back to the United States," according to The Associated Press. 

Kerry made the statement during a nationally broadcast interview, which came after an interview in which Snowden said he was forced to stay in Russia because the U.S. "revoked his passport". 

When asked about Snowden on the "Today" show, Kerry said Snowden's answer was "pretty dumb" for a "supposedly smart guy."

Snowden is known for leaking a series of top-secret NSA documents to the media that revealed NSA spying in the U.S. and around the world. 

"If Mr. Snowden wants to come back to the United States," Kerry said, "we'll have him on a flight today."

Kerry added that Snowden should "stand up in the United States and make his case to the American people."

In an interview with NBC anchor Brian Williams, part of which was broadcast Tuesday, Snowden said he was "trained as a spy." He also said that he had a larger role in U.S. intelligence affairs than Washington has cared to acknowledge. 

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas," he said.

In Kerry's interview, he said that a "patriot would not run away. ... He can come home but he's a fugitive from justice."

"Let him come back and make his case," he continued. "If he cares so much about America and he believes in America, he should trust the American system of justice."

"I think he's confused," he added. "I think it's very sad. But this is a man who has done great damage to his country."