Trump posted a phone number on Truth Social and told the whole country it belonged to Tom Cotton.
Senator John Kennedy went on national television and refused to just let that slide.
What Kennedy said next about Trump's temper is already spreading across Washington.
Kennedy Said Releasing Cotton's Number Would Not Change His Mind
The fight started over the Sunshine Protection Act, the bill that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.
Cotton opposes it, warning that permanent daylight saving time would leave kids waiting for school buses in pitch darkness during winter mornings.
Trump wants the bill passed and made that clear on Truth Social.
"For some reason, Tom is stopping the Bill and, in the Senate, it's very easy to do, it only takes one!" Trump wrote.
Then Trump posted what appeared to be Cotton's personal cell phone number and told Arkansas voters to call him directly.
"So, everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!" Trump wrote.
The House had already passed the bill back in July, so Trump saw Cotton as the last obstacle standing between him and a win.
Senator John Kennedy appeared on Meet the Press days later and was asked about the tactic directly.
"I don't think he should have given out Tom's cell phone number," Kennedy said. "I don't think that's going to help convince Tom."
What Kennedy Said About Trump Left the Room Laughing
Kennedy did not stop at defending Cotton's phone privacy.
He described the president's temperament in a way nobody on a Sunday show expected to hear.
Trump "can go from zero to a-hole in about three seconds," Kennedy said, without blinking.
He followed it immediately by praising Cotton as "a rock star senator," making clear this was not an attack on either man.
Kennedy added that he personally has NBC host Kristen Welker's cell number too, but joked he would never dream of releasing it.
The room laughed.
The point still landed.
Marco Rubio first introduced the Sunshine Protection Act years earlier, and it has stalled in Congress through multiple sessions without ever reaching a president's desk.
Cotton is not a new obstacle; he is the latest senator willing to say publicly what a handful of others only whisper about the bill's winter morning problem.
Why Cotton Still Will Not Move the Direction Trump Wants on the Clock to Change for Golfers
Trump's instinct here is not wrong.
Most Americans say they are tired of changing their clocks twice a year, and permanent daylight saving time has real support across the country.
The problem is not the idea; it is the direction.
You won’t hear it very often from us but Tom Cotton may be right here.
Permanent Standard Time is the much better move from a health perspective for your sleep.
Parents will hate dropping their kids off at the bus stop in the dark.
And starting work before the sun is up ain’t really appealing to many Americans either.
Permanent (year-round) Daylight Saving Time has been the law before – the last time was in 1974.
It was planned as a roughly 16-month trial that was supposed to run through April 1975.
But it was so unpopular that Congress repealed it before the trial period was and the country returned to standard time on October 27, 1974, after President Gerald Ford signed the amendment on October 5, 1974.
Kennedy, a Republican who generally backs Trump's agenda, saw the tactic for what it was and said so on national television instead of staying quiet.
Cotton's objection is about school buses in the dark and farmers working before sunrise, not spite toward the White House.
That House vote landed 308 to 117, which shows the appetite for the idea is real.
It still needs Cotton's cooperation to clear the Senate, but we bet the public would just as soon go with permanent standard time over daylight savings – we just want to not change all the time.
Sources:
- CBS News, "Trump Urges Calls to Cellphone of Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton in Battle Over Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill," CBS News, October 3, 2026.
- The Gateway Pundit, "Sen. John Kennedy Defends Tom Cotton, Says Trump Should Not Have Released His Number," The Gateway Pundit, October 5, 2026.
- NBC News, Meet the Press interview with Senator John Kennedy, NBC News, October 2026.
- The Hill, "Trump Posts Tom Cotton's Phone Number Over Daylight Saving Act Stall," The Hill, October 2026.
Related posts:
92 Year Old Grassley Silences Cory Booker During Explosive Kash Patel Hearing
Ron Johnson Heard What an ICU Doctor Told Gail Seiler After Learning She Was Unvaccinated
Trump Names the RINO Senate Holdout Blocking Permanent Daylight Saving Time
