Trump publicly shares Sen. Tom Cotton's phone number in fight over daylight saving time

Former President Donald Trump publicly shared the personal cell phone number of Republican Senator Tom Cotton, urging Americans to contact the Arkansas lawmaker in a dispute over permanent daylight saving time. Trump has been vocal in his support for The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent.

The bill passed the House of Representatives in July but faces opposition in the Senate, with Cotton being a prominent detractor. Trump posted on social media that Cotton was preventing the bill's progress and instructed constituents to tell him to "GET IT DONE." He then included a phone number with an Arkansas area code, which a Daily Mail reporter confirmed was full and did not answer.

Trump stated that permanent daylight saving time would provide golfers with more time on the greens and argued that people dislike going home in the dark after the time change. The White House has also expressed support for the measure, contending it would offer more daylight during hours when Americans are most active. Detractors, however, express concerns about darker winter mornings, particularly for children going to school and commuters driving to work.

This public escalation marks a notable move in the long-standing disagreement between Trump and Cotton on the issue. Cotton reiterated his opposition, citing concerns that permanent daylight saving time would lead to "absurdly late sunrises in the winter" and that "Arkansans don't want their kids going to school in the pitch dark." He emphasized his commitment to putting "Arkansas first."

Trump countered, arguing that permanent daylight saving time would indeed put Arkansas first by providing more daylight and eliminating the twice-yearly clock changes. He recalled a similar tactic from his 2016 presidential campaign when he released Senator Lindsey Graham's phone number after Graham criticized him. Graham, who later became an ally of Trump, famously responded by destroying multiple flip phones.

While Trump and Cotton share some policy positions, they are not known to be close. Cotton, a prominent national security voice in the Republican party, has previously differed with Trump on issues such as Iran policy and sentencing reform. Earlier in the year, Cotton also temporarily defied Trump's efforts to delay the confirmation of Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence.

Polling suggests a public divided on the issue of daylight saving time, with a 2025 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll indicating that a majority of U.S. adults would prefer to keep the extra hour of evening daylight. Forty-seven percent opposed the current system of changing clocks twice a year, while 40 percent were neutral and only 12 percent favored the status quo.