President Donald Trump publicly shared what he described as Sen. Tom Cotton’s cellphone number Friday while pressuring the Arkansas Republican to support legislation that would end the practice of changing clocks twice a year.
Trump made the unusual move in a lengthy Truth Social post promoting the Sunshine Protection Act and urging Arkansas voters to contact Cotton directly.
“Everybody in Arkansas, Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill,” Trump wrote.
Trump described the legislation as the “Sunshine Protection Act,” joking that it could also be called the “We Don’t Want to Change Our Clocks Twice a Year Act.”
The president accused Cotton of preventing the legislation from moving forward in the Senate.
“For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill,” Trump wrote.
He argued that the measure should receive overwhelming bipartisan support and called on people in Arkansas to pressure their senator.
Trump then escalated the public pressure campaign by including what he said was Cotton’s personal cellphone number in the post.
The number is not being reproduced here.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins highlighted the move on X, writing that Trump had given out Cotton’s cell number “over the daylight savings bill.”
Trump told Arkansas residents to contact Cotton and urge him to get the legislation moving.
“Tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!” Trump wrote.
The president repeatedly argued that Americans are tired of adjusting their clocks twice each year.
He said people would benefit from keeping more daylight during the afternoon rather than having additional sunlight early in the morning.
Trump specifically pointed to sports and outdoor activities.
“The PGA TOUR, as an example, needs more Daylight in the afternoon in order to finish their Tournaments,” he wrote.
Trump added that golfers, tennis players, hunters and farmers could also benefit from additional evening daylight.
He referenced a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp that he said supported the push.
Trump also cited polling figures in arguing that Americans overwhelmingly want to stop switching their clocks.
According to Trump, more than 65 percent of people want additional afternoon sunlight, while essentially everyone wants to avoid changing clocks twice per year.
“They want to, as they say, ‘LOCK THE CLOCK!’” Trump wrote.
The president also argued that changing clocks creates unnecessary costs and complications.
He referenced clocks installed in difficult-to-reach places such as church steeples and municipal buildings as an example.
Trump insisted the proposal enjoys broad support and singled out Cotton as the primary obstacle.
“Almost everybody wants ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ to pass, except for Tom Cotton,” Trump wrote.
He then appealed directly to voters in Arkansas, a state Trump noted he has carried repeatedly in presidential elections.
Trump said passing the legislation would represent a “GREAT Bipartisan WIN” for both the Senate and the country.
He again urged residents to contact Cotton personally using the cellphone number included in the original post.
Trump also claimed the legislation had already passed the House by a 308-117 vote and demanded that the Senate now take action.
“HAVE THE SENATE VOTE, NOW!” he wrote.
The post represents an unusually personal pressure campaign against a Republican senator Trump otherwise described as “a friend of mine.”
Rather than limiting his criticism to Cotton’s position on the legislation, Trump encouraged constituents to contact the senator directly using what he characterized as Cotton’s cellphone number.
The president’s message centered on making daylight saving time permanent and ending the twice-yearly clock changes.
But the decision to publicly distribute Cotton’s apparent personal contact information quickly became one of the most striking elements of the dispute.
Trump closed the post by thanking readers for their attention and signing it, “President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
