Trump turns Tom Cotton into GOP roadblock and demands Arkansas senator deliver 'win'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has turned his push to end America’s twice-yearly clock changes into a public showdown with Republican Sen Tom Cotton, escalating pressure across Truth Social posts and urging Arkansas voters to demand action from their senator.

Trump argued that Americans are tired of changing clocks, warned about people “going home at night” in darkness and called permanent daylight saving time a potential “GREAT bipartisan WIN.”

The dispute intensified on Saturday when Trump also encouraged Arkansans to contact Cotton and posted a number purporting to be the senator’s phone number.

Trump turns clock fight on Tom Cotton

Trump’s recent post made the case through safety and daily life.

He said a group of “very distinguished people” had told him they “HATE” returning home after a mandatory time change when “it’s DARK.”

He added that walking home in darkness was “a lot more dangerous” in what he called “Crime Ridden Blue States.”

His other message shifted from public concerns to Cotton himself.

Trump called the senator "a friend of mine" and noted that he had won Arkansas three times, the last time, he said, by 34 points.

Trump said passing the legislation would give Republicans a “GREAT State WIN” and a “Republican Party WIN.”

Tom Cotton opposes permanent daylight time

Cotton has consistently opposed making daylight saving time permanent.

In a 2025 Senate speech, he argued that keeping clocks permanently advanced would push winter sunrises later, leaving children, commuters and early workers traveling in darkness.

He cited the failed experiment with year-round daylight saving time in 1974 as a warning.

The disagreement is therefore about which clock Americans should keep permanently.

The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time the standard for most of the country, while states already exempt from daylight saving time could continue using standard time.

Trump, meanwhile, has emphasized afternoon daylight, saying farmers, golfers, sports participants and businesses could benefit from keeping the later sunset.

House vote leaves the decision to Senate

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on July 14 by a 308-117 vote, with support from 193 Republicans, 114 Democrats and one independent.

The legislation then moved to the Senate, where it has not received a vote.

Trump highlighted that bipartisan vote in his posts, saying lawmakers had already approved the measure overwhelmingly and asking why the Senate should not finish the job.

He also praised House Speaker Mike Johnson and members who supported the measure.

The Senate has now left Washington for the period surrounding the November 3 midterm elections, leaving the bill without action before the chamber’s return.

Senate out until after midterms

Trump’s separate post moved the pressure directly to Arkansas.

He said Cotton should stop blocking the “Sunshine Protection Act” and urged voters to contact him, ending with: “GET IT DONE!”

He also argued that changing clocks twice annually is unnecessary and called for Americans to “LOCK THE CLOCK.”

The immediate question is whether Senate Republicans will revisit the measure after the elections, with Cotton remaining publicly opposed and Trump demanding passage.