Trump, Republican senator trade barbs on making daylight saving time permanent

US President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Tom Cotton traded barbs Saturday on a push to make daylight saving time permanent.

Trump publicly shared what he said was the Arkansas lawmaker’s cellphone number and urged voters to pressure the senator to support the measure.

Trump accused Cotton of blocking the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the twice-yearly clock change for most Americans and keep daylight saving time in effect year-round.

“Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, telling residents to contact the senator and “GET IT DONE.” He argued that keeping daylight later in the afternoon would benefit workers, sports and other activities.

Cotton pushed back, saying previous experiments with permanent daylight saving time were abandoned 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,” he wrote.

Trump responded, saying that if Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would support giving residents more afternoon daylight and eliminating the need to change clocks twice a year.

He also accused Cotton of allowing “ego” to stand in the way of the legislation and urged him to “TAKE THE WIN.” Trump later argued in another post that earlier winter darkness was depressing and could make people less safe while traveling home.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act 308-117 in July, sending it to the Senate, where it has faced opposition.

The proposal would make daylight saving time permanent while allowing states to opt instead for permanent standard time. Supporters favor later sunsets, while opponents warn that the change would mean darker winter mornings, particularly for children traveling to school.