Trump posts Tom Cotton's cellphone number to push permanent daylight saving time
Trump told Arkansans to call what appeared to be the senator's personal phone after Cotton held up a clock bill the House passed 308 to 117 in July.
The Senate should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
“To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself”CNNOct 4
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter”CBS NewsOct 4
Open the record1 question in dispute · 4 of 10 sides covered · facts and sources
Trump posted what appeared to be Cotton's private number to push a bill the House passed 308 to 117 and the Senate has not voted on. [50][57][237]
The split The wire called it "a remarkable escalation" [156]; MSNBC's headline says Trump "cyber heckles" Sen. Tom Cotton over daylight saving time. [65]; The Bulwark's headline says Trump "Picked a Fight With His Own Ally at the Dumbest Possible Time." [175]; Fox's headline says Trump "drops Republican Senator's phone number in social post over fury on stalled bill." [237].
Where they partEvery camp accepts that Trump posted Cotton's phone number over the stalled daylight saving bill; they split on whether that was an escalation, doxxing, or a fight over a policy.
The facts6 points
- On Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, President Trump posted a phone number, 479-453-0533, on Truth Social. He said "Tom Cotton, a friend of mine, is holding up a very important Bill" called "The Sunshine Protection Act," and urged people to "Call Tom on his cellphone." CNN reported the number as Sen. Tom Cotton's (R-Ark.) personal cellphone. (CNN)
- CNN reported that Cotton's voicemail box was full when it called the number. The Associated Press called it and got no answer and a full voicemail box. (CNN; MS NOW)
- The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139) 308 to 117 on July 14, 2026. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced it. The bill would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. (Washington State Standard)
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- Under the bill, states that did not observe daylight saving time before enactment could stay on permanent standard time. That would affect only Hawaii and Arizona, outside the Navajo Nation. (Washington State Standard)
- The bill's Senate prospects are uncertain. Cotton opposes permanent daylight saving time and has argued it would produce very late winter sunrises. (Idaho Capital Sun)
- In July 2015, Trump read aloud the private phone number of Sen. Lindsey Graham at a campaign event. (Al Jazeera)
How outlets handled it4 source groups · original passages and links
Liberal
“And he should not have been doxxed.”Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, quoted by MSNBC · a Republican congressman defending Cotton and labeling Trump's posting of the number as doxxing
“For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it’s very easy to do, it only takes one!”Donald Trump, president, quoted by MSNBC · explaining why he blames Cotton alone for blocking the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate
is MSNBC's opening line, and it closed on Rep. Chip Roy saying Cotton "should not have been doxxed." CNN added Rep.
Read the original ›
Center
“It was a remarkable escalation on Trump's part of a longstanding fixation shared by both men — with Trump supporting making daylight saving time permanent, and Cotton vociferously opposed — at a time just weeks before the midterms, when Republicans would prefer that the president focus on talking about affordability issues and the party's achievements.”Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour) · framing the phone-number post as a political distraction for Republicans weeks before the midterms
"If Tom Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would give them an extra hour of daylight and, more importantly, they wouldn't have to run all over their houses, farms, work places, and everywhere else, twice a year, having to change their Clocks, and often forgetting to do so,"Donald Trump, president, quoted by PBS NewsHour · turning Cotton's 'Arkansas first' defense back on him in the public feud over the Sunshine Protection Act
is how the AP copy on PBS described the post.
Read the original ›Center-Right
“Trump Picked a Fight With His Own Ally at the Dumbest Possible Time”The Bulwark · headline casting the Cotton phone-number feud as a self-inflicted blunder before a tough midterm environment
is where the Bulwark pointed, framing the post as Trump attacking "one of his own loyal allies" with Republicans "already staring down a brutal midterm environment." The only Bulwark receipt is a paywalled show summary, so the read rests on its framing lines, not reporting. [175]
Read the original ›MAGA
“For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it’s very easy to do, it only takes one! It should pass overwhelmingly, in a Bipartisan fashion,”Donald Trump, President, quoted by Fox News · blaming a single senator for blocking permanent daylight saving time and urging Arkansans to pressure him
“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”Tom Cotton, Republican senator from Arkansas, quoted by Fox News · defending his block of the bill by citing dark winter mornings after past repeals of permanent DST
is how Fox described the bill's failure to pass despite bipartisan support. Breitbart ran two pieces, one straight report and one giving Cotton the floor to explain his opposition.
Read the original ›
Breitbart NewsOct 4
