Donald Trump on Saturday put pressure on the US senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas to support a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, urging Americans to call what appeared to be the personal cellphone number of his fellow Republican and the chair of the Senate intelligence committee. The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House in July, but it faces roadblocks in the Senate, where some Republicans are strongly opposed to it. Proponents, including the president and his administration, argue that the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active.
Detractors said permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings when children will be waiting for school buses and parents will be driving to work in darkness. Daylight saving time is that period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the US are set one hour ahead of standard time. Not all states observe it – and under the bill, states can opt out of the change if their respective legislatures act to do so before the bill’s enactment.
It will be appreciated by all.” Trump included a phone number with an Arkansas area code. The called the number, but no one answered – and the voicemail box was full. The Guardian also called and was greeted with a message from the service carrier saying, “The wireless customer you are calling is not available.
Please try again later.” Cotton, a member of Republican leadership, reiterated his opposition to permanent daylight saving time in a social media post of his own on Saturday afternoon, though he is not the only Republican who opposes it. In that case, at the height of winter, those in Seattle wouldn’t see sunrise until 9am; and in Williston, North Dakota, the sun wouldn’t rise until nearly 9.45am, Cotton wrote. But Trump, who is spending the day at his northern Virginia golf club before traveling to Ohio later Saturday, promptly fired back.
The president added that he believed “that is really putting Arkansas FIRST”. This is not the first time Trump has released personal information about a US senator. While competing for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the US senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina described Trump as “unfit for office” after Trump denigrated the military service of the US senator John McCain of Arizona.
Trump then released Graham’s personal cellphone number. That prompted a viral video in which the senator dramatically destroyed a series of flip phones. Graham later became a close ally of Trump before dying in July.
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