Trump Shares GOP Senator’s Phone Number In Fight For Permanent
Conservative principles face implementation challenges as policy meets political complexity.
The real story isn't that President Trump has Tom Cotton’s personal cell number. It’s that **he gave it to the voters of Arkansas**. That’s the whole point.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
President Donald Trump published Sen. Tom Cotton’s personal cellphone number Saturday and urged Arkansas residents to pressure the Republican to vote for legislation to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
It’s not the first time Trump has publicly disclosed a fellow Republican’s phone number. During the 2016 Republican primary, Trump infamously read Sen. Lindsey Graham’s cellphone number aloud at a campaign event.
Graham responded with a humorous video showing the various ways he could destroy his phone. Trump used the same tactic Saturday to force Cotton’s hand on the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent.
In a lengthy Truth Social post , Trump accused Cotton of holding up the legislation, which passed the House 308-117 in July and is now stalled in the U.S. Senate. “For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill,” Trump wrote. “So, everyone in Arkansas … tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!” Trump included Cotton’s cellphone number in the post and urged constituents to call him.
He said the legislation should be bipartisan and cited golfers, tennis players, hunters and farmers among those who could benefit from longer daylight. “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. “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!” The Arkansas Republican has long opposed the measure, warning that it would “push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour,” as The Daily Wire previously reported. “These highly concentrated benefits for a few industries in a few regions are offset by widely distributed costs across many more industries throughout the entire country,” Cotton said in a speech. “And that’s to say nothing of moms sending their kids to school in the dark of night.” The Daily Wire has reached out to Cotton’s office for comment.
But he is not alone in opposing permanent daylight saving time. Republican and Democratic senators on the Senate Commerce Committee previously voted against advancing the measure, including Sen Majority Leader John Thune.
If enacted, the Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time permanent, ending the twice-yearly clock changes for most of the United States. Under the legislation, clocks would remain on daylight saving time year-round — the time currently observed from March through early November.
Most of Arizona and Hawaii, along with several U.S. territories, already do not observe daylight saving time. Supporters argue that eliminating the twice-yearly clock changes could reduce some of the health and safety risks associated with the spring transition.
Research cited by the American Heart Association has found increases in heart attacks and strokes in the days after clocks move forward. A University of Colorado Boulder study found a 6% increase in fatal car crashes during the following workweek.
Opponents, including several medical organizations, argue that permanent standard time better aligns with the body’s natural circadian rhythm because it provides more morning sunlight. Daylight saving time was first adopted during World War I and later standardized nationwide under the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The real story isn't that President Trump has Tom Cotton’s personal cell number. It’s that he gave it to the voters of Arkansas. That’s the whole point. Trump wants permanent daylight saving time, Cotton is in the way, and instead of leaking to the press or wringing his hands on Twitter, the president sent the people directly to the source. It’s blunt. It’s a little uncomfortable. And it works.
This isn’t some new low. Trump did the same thing to Lindsey Graham back in 2016, and Graham went on to become one of his closest allies in the Senate. That tells you something. For all the hand-wringing about decorum, the senators who end up on the receiving end usually figure out that the president is serious, and so are the folks on the other end of the line. Cotton is a smart guy. He can handle a few ringing phones without collapsing.
The underlying issue is one nearly every American agrees on. No one likes changing their clocks twice a year. The sun sets at four in the afternoon and we all act shocked. This isn’t a philosophical debate about federalism. It’s a practical, middle-class annoyance, and Trump has decided to kill it. That’s what he was elected to do, and using the bully pulpit on a fellow Republican is just how he works. It’s not a scandal. It’s a strategy.
So Tom Cotton should pick up the phone. He should listen to what the people of his state are telling him, and then he should side with the president and get this thing done. Otherwise, he can expect more calls, and he’ll deserve every one. Listen to your phone, Senator. That’s the job.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.