GETTY Ischinger warned Donald Trump was not a "dumb idiot"

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Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference, says it came as a surprise to see Mr Trump win - even though he knew “a disproportionately big number of Americans were undecided till the last minute”. He claims now the President-elect has a great opportunity to drop the “big talk” and start taking on president responsibility.

But he also blasted critics of the Republican candidate who have dismissed him as a “dumb idiot”, warning people not to underestimate the entrepreneur and what he will be able to achieve in office. During his time as German Ambassador in Washington, Mr Ischinger was invited to join the then business tycoon at a red carpet event.

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He said: “It was an interesting evening. I remember a long red carpet leading the guests to Trump. I found this amusing. “But I saw him, of course, as an entrepreneur, at the time, he did not point out that he was going to take on a political office, let alone such an important one.” Of course a lot has changed since then, after Donald Trump shocked the world with his history win over Hillary Clinton in the US election on Tuesday. Mr Ischinger warned the President-elect must be taken seriously if Europe is to benefit at all from the election, and claims countries should jump at the opportunity to deal a new deal with the US.

GETTY Ischinger claims Donald Trump must now drop the "big talk"

He said: “We have a moment of maximum unprecedented uncertainty in the transatlantic relationship. “Not just because of the big talk, but also because we really do not know what this President is actually going to do once he is in office. “Does he want to implement his election campaign statements one by one? I don't think so but we can't know for sure. “I think we should not panic or be in shock, we are actually presented with a big chance.

GETTY Wolfgang Ischinger first met Trump at a red carpet event

“As long as there is no presidential government programme - and this will not happen until the day of the inauguration in January - we have the great opportunity to present this future president with our expectations and demands for our conceptions of the transatlantic relationship. “Meaning, instead of waiting until we hear what Trump wants, we should now tell Trump what we want. Otherwise, it may be too late for that." Many people across the world have been critical of American voters for choosing to elect the inexperience billionaire over a woman who has spent years in the White House.

President-Elect Donald Trump in pictures Tue, December 13, 2016 Donald John Trump is an American businessman and politician who is President-elect of the United States as well as chairman and president of The Trump Organization Play slideshow 1 of 64

I think those who believe they are dealing with a dumb idiot are completely wrong. Wolfgang Ischinger, German diplomat and former Washington ambassador

But the German diplomat claims to underestimate ‘The Donald’ would be dangerous, saying: “If you read what he writes in his book, "The Art of a Deal," then you know that this is a man who graduated from the prestigious Wharton School, who has an MBA, who already knows what he is doing. “I think those who believe they are dealing with a dumb idiot are completely wrong.” It’s not just Europe that could benefit from having Trump in charge of the US, however.

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Mr Ischinger also claimed there could now be a chance for the US to start talks with Vladimir Putin and end all talk of possible nuclear war. He said: “In recent years, a major problem in East-West relations has been that the administration of Barack Obama did not seek the conversation with Russia on a summit level. “You have to go back years to find an intense conversation between the American and Russian presidents. “This has annoyed Russia, of course. From my point of view, it would be massively of European and German interest if the future US president is looking for a conversation with Putin.”

GETTY Mr Ischinger warned the President-elect must be taken seriously

However Mr Ischinger warned any talks between the US and Russia must be made on the agreement that Russia does not try to take back control of European allies, including the Baltic nations are very concerned about their own security. He said: “These states would first want to hear from Trump that the NATO treaty stays in place, that the assistance in the alliance is according by Article 5, and that Trump is only seeking to talk to Russia on this basis. “There must not be the impression that a Trump-Putin engagement is now being made at the expense of third parties, that is, at the expense of the security interests of European allies.”

GETTY The US must ensure the NATO treaty stays in place