US President-elect Donald Trump did not speak to the head of the European Commission after his election, but instead left the job to his deputy, officials told AFP Tuesday.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence spoke to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on December 7, according to a presidential transition source.

Juncker, the outspoken former leader of Luxembourg, previously described Trump’s election campaign as “absolutely disgusting.”
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“It was not American democracy’s hour of glory,” he said.

Trump’s delegation of the call could be seen as a diplomatic slight in Europe, where there are already jitters about Trump’s commitment to the transatlantic alliance ahead of his January 20 inauguration.

Juncker may not be a household name around the world, but he runs the bureaucracy tasked with writing legislation that spans the entire European Union — the world’s largest common market.

European Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein on Tuesday demurred when asked whether Juncker spoke to the president-elect or his deputy.

“It’s clear there are a lot of subjects in common that the leaders could discuss in common,” said Winterstein.

“I won’t go into detail, but I can tell you the president was in contact with the new leaders in the United States.”