Donald Trump escalated a Republican dispute over clock changes on Saturday by publishing what appeared to be Senator Tom Cotton’s personal cellphone number, urging Arkansans to pressure the intelligence committee chair into backing permanent daylight saving time.
Donald Trump pressures Tom Cotton to back permanent daylight saving time
The president’s Truth Social post marks a rare public clash with a sitting senator from his own party and hands voters a direct line to a lawmaker standing in the way of his legislative priority.
“For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill,” Trump wrote, claiming the change would give professional golfers extra time on the course. He asked “everyone in Arkansas” to “tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!” before adding, “Call Tom on his cellphone,” followed by a number with an Arkansas area code.
Reporters who dialed the number found no answer. The Associated Press hit a full voicemail box, while The Guardian heard a carrier recording stating the wireless customer was unavailable.
Cotton fired back within hours, defending his position in his own social media post. He pointed out that Congress has approved permanent daylight saving time before, only to reverse course once Americans endured winter sunrises that arrived unusually late. “Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first,” he wrote.
The Sunshine Protection Act cleared the House in July but stalled in the Senate, where a bloc of Republicans shares Cotton’s concerns. Supporters, including Trump’s administration, say the shift would align daylight with hours when Americans are most active. Critics warn of darker, more dangerous winter commutes.
Public opinion offers Trump ammunition: a 2025 AP-NORC poll found 47% of US adults oppose the current system, with only 12% supporting it and 40% neutral. Congress first adopted daylight saving time as a wartime measure in 1942, and the Senate passed a permanent version in 2022 that later died in the House.
