Trump shares Cotton’s phone number amid daylight saving time dispute

Trump urges Arkansas voters to pressure Cotton over daylight saving bill

President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Tom Cotton have become embroiled in a public dispute over legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States.

The disagreement dominated a series of social media posts Saturday after Trump intensified pressure on Cotton, accusing the Arkansas senator of obstructing the Sunshine Protection Act. The House passed the measure 308-117 in July, but it has not cleared the Senate.

Trump said on Truth Social: “Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill. It’s called, ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ or, ‘We Don’t Want to Change Our Clocks Twice a Year Act.’”

He added: “For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it’s very easy to do, it only takes one! It should pass overwhelmingly, in a Bipartisan fashion.”

Trump subsequently posted what he described as Cotton’s cellphone number and encouraged Arkansas residents to contact the senator. The number is not reproduced here. The president argued that Americans are tired of changing their clocks twice annually and would benefit from additional evening daylight.

Cotton responded by reaffirming his opposition to permanent daylight saving time.

“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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton wrote.

“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”

The exchange prompted widespread reaction on X, including posts from journalists, conservative commentators and political accounts, several of whom highlighted the unusual public disagreement between Trump and a Republican senator.

Trump has argued that permanent daylight saving time could benefit businesses, sports and families by providing more sunlight during the afternoon and evening. He specifically cited golf, saying additional daylight would allow more people to play after work and help tournaments finish before darkness.

Cotton has focused his opposition on winter mornings, warning that permanent daylight saving time would force children and workers to travel before sunrise. The United States briefly adopted year-round daylight saving time during the 1970s before Congress reversed the policy amid public dissatisfaction.

The dispute comes before Americans are scheduled to change their clocks again on November 1. The Senate has adjourned until after the midterm elections, limiting the prospects of immediate action on the legislation.

A 2025 AP-NORC poll found only 12% of American adults supported continuing the current twice-yearly clock-changing system, although preferences differed over which permanent time system should replace it.