John Brennan

He said spontaneity was not in the interests of national security.

Mr Trump is known for regularly making broad pronouncements on issues of national importance on his Twitter feed.

Mr Brennan also said that Mr Trump did not fully appreciate Russia's capabilities or intentions.

"I think Mr Trump has to understand that absolving Russia of various actions that it's taken in the past number of years is a road that he, I think, needs to be very, very careful about moving down," he said.

"The new administration -- and any president -- needs to recognize that this is a challenging and dangerous world, and that the intelligence community and intelligence professionals can help to keep this country safe and protect our national security interests," Brennan told David Axelrod on "The Axe Files," a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN.

"And any president or administration that does not recognize that is one that is putting this country's national security at great risk and peril," he added.