President Donald Trump has renewed his campaign to eliminate the twice-yearly clock changes in the United States by advocating for year-round daylight saving time, a measure he says would benefit sports and outdoor activities. The proposal, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, aims to keep clocks on daylight saving time permanently rather than reverting to standard time each autumn.
Originally adopted during World War II to conserve energy during a national crisis, daylight saving time requires clocks to move forward in spring and back in fall. Trump has called for ending the time changes for several years, asserting that maintaining daylight saving time year-round would reduce crime and traffic accidents while boosting tourism and benefiting industries like restaurants and sports.
On Saturday, Trump intensified the debate by publicly sharing the mobile phone number of Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who has opposed the bill. Trump urged Cotton’s constituents to contact him in order to encourage the senator to support the legislation, describing the bill as a “GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America.” Cotton and other critics have expressed concerns that permanent daylight saving time would cause children to begin the school day in darkness during certain months.
Trump’s campaign included a reference to a letter from Brian Rolapp, chief executive of the PGA Tour, which highlighted that more afternoon daylight would aid professional golf tournaments and potentially increase industry revenues. Trump argued that extended daylight would also be valuable for tennis players, hunters, farmers, and regular recreational golfers.
The House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July by a wide margin, voting 308 to 117 in favor of ending the biannual clock changes practiced since the 1960s. However, the Senate has yet to take formal action on the proposal.
Supporters of year-round daylight saving time maintain that it could simplify scheduling and improve quality of life by providing more usable daylight in the evening. Opponents caution that darker mornings in winter months may pose safety risks, especially for schoolchildren traveling early in the day.
As the debate continues, the fate of the legislation remains uncertain, with key senators like Cotton standing as obstacles to its passage in the upper chamber.