Donald Trump publicly posted the personal phone number of Senator and “friend” Tom Cotton on Saturday (October 3rd), launching a fierce attack against the Republican senator from Arkansas for blocking legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent. Despite calling Cotton a “friend,” Trump went after the Arkansas senator, who stands as the primary obstacle to the proposed Sunshine Protection Act — a bill that would establish permanent daylight saving time across the United States.
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Trump: “Everyone in Arkansas, tell Tom: ‘DO IT!'”
“For some reason, Tom is blocking the bill, and in the Senate it’s very easy to move forward — it only takes one! It should pass with an overwhelming majority, with bipartisan support,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “So, everyone in Arkansas, a state I love and have won three times — the last time by a 34-point margin — tell Tom: DO IT!”
This isn’t the first time Trump has publicly shared a senator’s private phone number. Back in 2015, he did the same to Senator Lindsey Graham during their heated rivalry over the Republican presidential nomination.
The senator’s response to Trump
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin in July, with a vote of 308-117, but has since stalled in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome a filibuster and advance the legislation.
Cotton, who is running for re-election on November 3rd, was undeterred by the president’s attack. “Nobody likes changing the clocks, including me, but Congress has enacted permanent daylight saving time multiple times in the past and repealed it each time when Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises during the winter months,” the Arkansas senator responded on X. “Arkansans don’t want their children going to school in complete darkness, and I will always put Arkansas first.”
Trump ramps up the pressure
The United States previously attempted to implement permanent daylight saving time year-round during the 1970s, but ultimately reverted to changing the clocks twice a year. In recent years, efforts to establish permanent daylight saving time have gained momentum. However, Cotton has argued that starting the day in darkness during the winter months has negative consequences for children waiting for school buses in the early morning hours.
Trump had already been escalating his pressure on Cotton over the daylight saving time issue, targeting him in an angry post on Friday — just one day before he published his phone number.
“Nobody wants to waste their precious time running around changing clocks twice a year, and having sunshine in the afternoon is much better than having it early in the morning!” Trump added later.
“It is very costly for our nation when there are tall and dangerous spots to be reached, as in churches and municipal buildings. Almost everyone wants the Sunshine Protection Act to pass, except Tom Cotton.”
Trump’s full post, in detail
“If Tom Cotton truly put Arkansas first, he would give it one more hour of sunshine and, most importantly, residents wouldn’t have to run around the house, the farm, the workplace, and everywhere else, twice a year, changing their clocks — and often forgetting to.
That’s what it really means to put Arkansas FIRST. And I know this because, unlike Tom, I won that great state three times, by nearly 40 points!
Moreover, it would be a very good and easy WIN for the Republican Party and, in particular, for Republicans in the Senate — a place where we could really use some WINS!
The House passed the ‘Sunshine Protection Act’ a long time ago, in a truly bipartisan vote of 308-117. For months, the bill has been blocked in the Senate — a place where things go to die — by Tom Cotton! And for what reason, other than his ego?
The reason it was repealed in the past was that certain congressmen and senators, many years ago, used it as a ‘bargaining chip’ for far more important legislation — and gained a lot in return! Everyone loved it, but they gave it up in order to secure ‘bigger, better, and more important’ things.
Give the Republican Party a win in the Senate, for a change!
Thank you to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and all House members, Republicans and Democrats alike, who passed the ‘No More Ridiculous Changing of Your Clocks Act’ by such a large majority and who so strongly want their ‘SUN’ in the afternoon rather than early in the morning — something farmers, sports fans, and athletics in general love (below is a copy of a letter from the PGA TOUR!).
Daylight saving time polls at 65%-35% in favor, but why wouldn’t it? Who wouldn’t want more ‘SUN’ in the afternoon rather than in the morning?
It has also been proven to help fight CRIME, something I have done historic work on, because CRIMINALS DON’T LIKE WORKING IN THE LIGHT.
Not wanting to change your many clocks, including those in church steeples and municipal buildings, is however a 100% issue.
TAKE THE WIN, TOM, JUST TAKE THE WIN! YOU NEED IT AND SO DOES OUR BELOVED REPUBLICAN PARTY!
Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
