WASHINGTON — President Trump publicly shared the personal cellphone number of Senate “friend” Tom Cotton on Saturday, escalating a dispute with the Republican senator over legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent.
Although Trump described Cotton as a friend, he sharply criticized the Arkansas senator for blocking the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the twice-yearly clock change nationwide.
“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 wrote on Truth Social. “So, everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!
“Call Tom on his cellphone at … and let him know.”
Trump previously took a similar step in 2015, when he released the personal cellphone number of then-Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., during a contentious Republican presidential primary battle.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House by a lopsided 308-117 vote in July. In the Senate, however, the measure would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
Cotton, who is seeking reelection on Nov. 3, showed no sign of backing down after Trump’s criticism.
“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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” the Arkansas senator wrote on X.
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“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”
The United States tested year-round daylight saving time in the 1970s, but eventually returned to the twice-yearly clock change.
In recent years, proposals to adopt permanent daylight saving time have attracted renewed bipartisan support.
Cotton has maintained that winter mornings would remain dark under the proposal, creating concerns for children waiting for school buses before sunrise.
Trump had been increasing pressure on Cotton over the issue, calling him out in a Friday tirade before posting the senator’s number the following day.
“Nobody wants to spend their precious time running all over the place, turning Clocks back twice a year and, having sunshine in the afternoon is better than early in the morning!” Trump later wrote.
“It’s very expensive for our Nation where you have high and dangerous steeples to reach, like on churches and municipal buildings. Almost everybody wants ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ to pass, except for Tom Cotton.”
