Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Twitter was not the best method to communicate with his fellow Canadians, saying he prefers in-person conversations. | Getty Trudeau: Trump's tweets cause 'wrinkles in international diplomacy'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday there is no question that President Donald Trump’s Twitter habits present a “new wrinkle in international diplomacy.”

During an open forum with New York Times Toronto bureau chief Catherine Porter and White House correspondent Peter Baker, Trudeau quipped that he focuses on more important things than reading Trump’s tweets in bed and opts to hear about them during his morning briefing instead.


“If I get woken up at night for something, it better be something more important than a tweet,” Trudeau said to laughter. “I think modern means of communications have led to adjustments in how we function.”

But he acknowledged that Trump’s online communication should be treated seriously.

“Anything that the president of the United States says in any forum is worthy of noting, of placing into context,” Trudeau said. “I understand the power of a genuine, authentic voice, where people in this society appreciate being able to directly hear and see and learn what someone thinks in a less filtered way.”

Since assuming the presidency, Trump has tweeted about Canada four times, first about meeting Trudeau on Feb. 13 and then mentioning the country while describing a book.

However, his third tweet about the U.S. neighbor was more combative, saying on April 25 that Canada made business difficult for dairy farmers by the U.S.-Canada border, ending his message by saying, “We will not stand for this. Watch!” This came as Trump bashed the North American Free Trade Agreement, since among other factors, he said Canada’s lower dairy pricing took business away from U.S. states.

But two days later, Trump announced via another 140-character missive that he “received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate" and that he agreed to do so.

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Trump has gone after other countries, such as Cuba, China and North Korea, in harsher terms than his tweets about Canada. After former University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier was medically evacuated from North Korea while comatose, Trump tweeted twice about the country.

“The U.S. once again condemns the brutality of the North Korean regime as we mourn its latest victim,” Trump tweeted in the morning. “While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!”

He also mentioned what he said was North Korea’s disrespect for China in tweets from April 28 and May 29.

Trudeau said Twitter was not the best method to communicate with his fellow Canadians, saying he prefers in-person conversations.

“I appreciate the value of connecting with people authentically. I just find that as the prime minister of Canada, I have many opportunities to speak directly to Canadians and engage with them,” Trudeau said. “But it’s not something that I need, to get out of my bubble when you’re running a government.”