Trump posted what he said was Cotton’s cellphone number on social media.
US President Donald Trump has publicly clashed with fellow Republican Senator Tom Cotton over a proposal to keep daylight saving time in place throughout the year. The dispute took an unusual turn on Saturday when Trump posted what he said was Cotton’s cellphone number on social media and asked people in Arkansas to call the senator and pressure him to support the proposal.
The 1974 experiment is also central to the argument. During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, he publicly displayed the phone number of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was then competing against him for the Republican nomination, and encouraged people to call him.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the twice-yearly clock change, calling it “ridiculous”. “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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Mr. Cotton said in a social media post. “To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate,” Mr. Trump said.
“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark. “Call Tom on his cellphone. Supporters of permanent daylight saving time say the extra evening light would benefit activities such as sports and leisure, while opponents warn that winter mornings could become significantly darker.
Trump has previously used a similar tactic against another senator. On Saturday, he said the practice “discombobulates everybody.