Trump shares Republican senator's phone number amid daylight saving time row
US President Donald Trump on Saturday escalated a dispute with Republican Senator Tom Cotton over efforts to make daylight saving time permanent, sharing online a phone number he said belonged to the Arkansas senator and urging people to call him.
Trump's intervention came as he pressed Republicans to back the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the twice-yearly practice of changing clocks by one hour. The House of Representatives passed the bill in July, but it faces opposition in the Senate.advertisement❮❯ Read Full StoryTRUMP URGES CALLS TO COTTON"Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill," Trump wrote on Truth Social, urging people to contact Cotton and push for the legislation.
The president has argued that Americans want more daylight in the afternoon. Cotton, however, opposes making daylight saving time permanent, saying it would leave children and other early risers travelling to school and work in darkness during winter.
Cotton defended his position in a post on X, saying Congress had previously enacted permanent daylight saving time but repealed it after Americans experienced very late winter sunrises.
"Arkansans don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I'll always put Arkansas first," Cotton wrote. 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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter.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— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 3, 2026When Reuters called the number posted by Trump, it went directly to a voicemail box that did not identify itself as belonging to Cotton. The number has not been independently confirmed as Cotton's.TRUMP TURNS DISPUTE POLITICAL
The exchange marked Trump's second post in two days targeting Cotton over the legislation.
After Cotton reiterated his opposition, Trump returned to Truth Social and framed the bill as a potential political victory for Republicans.
"Give the Republican Party a Senatorial WIN, for a change! TAKE THE WIN TOM, JUST TAKE THE WIN! YOU NEED IT, AND SO DOES OUR BELOVED REPUBLICAN PARTY!" Trump wrote.
Cotton is seeking re-election, although his 2026 race is not considered competitive. Trump won more than 64% of the vote in Arkansas in the 2024 presidential election.
Most US states have observed daylight saving time since the 1960s. Under the current system, clocks are due to move back to standard time on November 1.BILL FACES SENATE OPPOSITION
Cotton is not the only Republican senator opposing the measure. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy this week called the bill "dead as disco" and said he did not expect Senate Majority Leader John Thune to bring it up for a vote.
The Senate has adjourned without taking up the legislation, making its immediate prospects uncertain.GOLFERS, FARMERS BACK PERMANENT DAYLIGHT SAVING
Trump has cited support from several groups for keeping daylight saving time year-round, including golfers, tennis players, hunters and farmers.
He shared an October 1 letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp arguing that more afternoon daylight would help the tour finish tournaments.
Trump, who frequently plays golf at his clubs, also cited public safety as an argument for the change.
"CRIMINALS DON'T LIKE WORKING IN THE LIGHT," he wrote in another Truth Social post.
Trump later said that people he described as "very distinguished" had told him they disliked going home in the dark.
This is not the first time Trump has publicly shared a senator's phone number during a political dispute. In 2015, during his first presidential campaign, he read out then-Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number at a rally and called him an "idiot."
Trump and Graham later reconciled, with Graham becoming one of Trump's prominent allies in Congress.- Ends
