President Donald Trump has publicly shared what he identified as Republican Senator Tom Cotton’s personal phone number while criticising the Arkansas senator over his opposition to legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent in the United States.
Trump made the comments on Truth Social as he urged Arkansas residents to pressure Cotton to support the Sunshine Protection Act, which has passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate. Trump referred to the legislation as the “We Don’t Want to Change Our Clocks Twice a Year Act” and argued that Americans should no longer have to adjust their clocks twice annually.
He also cited the benefits of having more daylight in the afternoon for activities including golf, tennis, hunting and farming, while arguing that changing clocks is costly, particularly at difficult-to-reach locations such as church steeples and municipal buildings. Cotton, however, defended his opposition to permanent Daylight Saving Time, saying the issue had been considered before and that Congress had subsequently reversed course after Americans experienced very late sunrises during winter.
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter. Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first,” Cotton wrote. Trump then responded to Cotton, arguing that permanent Daylight Saving Time would provide more afternoon daylight while eliminating the need for Americans to change their clocks twice a year.
“If Tom Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would give them an extra hour of daylight and, more importantly, they wouldn’t have to run all over their houses, farms, work places, and everywhere else, twice a year, having to change their Clocks, and often forgetting to do so,” Trump wrote.
Trump subsequently urged his followers to contact Cotton directly and used the phrase “LOCK THE CLOCK!” in promoting the legislation. The dispute comes after the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act by a 308-117 vote in July. The measure would establish permanent Daylight Saving Time, subject to provisions allowing states to opt out in favour of permanent standard time.
Opponents of the proposal, including Cotton, have raised concerns about darker winter mornings, particularly for schoolchildren, commuters and people who work early in the day. Trump’s decision to publicly share Cotton’s alleged personal number has added a separate dimension to the disagreement between the two Republicans over the legislation.