“There is a tradition for many presidents when they take office to be isolationist” and then, with time, “change course”, said de Sousa in a televised debate on political populism.

During the programme, which was broadcast on the public channel RTP3, the president called on viewers to look at history and “not only to the night before” rather than jumping to early conclusions about Trump's presidency.

He said he believes that Trump will change in similar ways to his predecessors, because “there are things that can't be ignored”.

For many years before his own election as Portugal's head of state at the beginning of last year, de Sousa had a weekly slot on national television, commenting on political and social affairs.