Almost a week after president-elect Donald Trump shocked many around the world with his U.S. election win, his long-time friend, Conrad Black, remains unsurprised.

“I just didn’t drink the Kool-Aid on the other side,” Black told BNN’s Jon Erlichman in an interview on Monday. “I knew his appeal was stronger than the conventional wisdom accepted that it was.”

Black cited the enormous support Trump earned during the Republican primaries as an early indication of the billionaire businessman’s popularity. He said Trump managed to increase voter turnout for the Republican primaries by 60 per cent from four years ago.

Black also believes that, despite reports Trump was shocked by the election outcome, the Republican candidate had really expected to win.

The real Donald Trump

Black said he had trouble marrying the controversial, public persona Trump displayed during the campaign with the man he knows personally.

“The real Donald Trump is not such an absurd character and not so bombastic,” Black said. “He’s certainly not a self-effacing man, but he’s quite presentable.”

The “real Trump” according to Black, is the subdued man who appeared before supporters to deliver his victory speech hours after polls closed.

“He spoke in a quiet voice, quite amusingly, not at all self-importantly and it was rather suave,” Black said. “That is him. He’s a great raconteur.”

Black said Trump has a clear mandate when it comes to reforms for campaign financing, taxes, immigration, political correctness, education, employment and national security. He described Trump’s plans as a “moderate program.”

Trump’s relationship with Canada

Black said he isn’t concerned about potential friction between Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“They’re both affable people. I think they’ll get on very well,” Black said.

He said there may be a few areas of contention between the two leaders when it comes to certain policies, such as climate change, that will have to be managed carefully, however. Black also mentioned the Keystone XL pipeline proposal and the softwood lumber dispute as other issues the two countries will have to address.

Trump has been very vocal about his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and his plans to make changes to the deal. Black said this position shouldn’t be misinterpreted as an insult to Canada.

“I think it’s clear that Donald Trump doesn’t have a problem with Canada. When he attacks NAFTA, he’s not attacking Canada-U.S. free trade,” he clarified.