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Trump blames Sen. Tom Cotton as Senate bill for permanent daylight saving time stalls

President Trump used a Truth Social post on Thursday to blame Republican Sen. Tom Cotton for holding up the Sunshine Protection Act, which the House passed 308-117 in July. The Senate has gone on recess until after the midterms.

3 outlets · 1L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated

Updated (version 2). New coverage since the last version from Just the News.

Image: Newsweek
Image: Raw Story
Image: Just the News

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The story, neutrally told

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social late on Thursday 1 October, blaming Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas for holding up a bill to end twice-yearly clock changes. The bill is the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent; Trump called it the "No More Changing of Clocks Act". Newsweek reports the House passed the measure in July by a bipartisan 308-117 vote, but it needs Senate approval before it can become law.

Raw Story notes the post came despite the Senate already having gone on recess until after the midterm elections. Trump wrote that Republicans in the Senate "have to get moving" and that both Democrats and Republicans want the change. He claimed that ending the clock changes would cut robbery and murder rates, reduce car accidents, lower the risk of cardiac problems, stroke and seasonal depression, make children's walks home from school safer, and save on energy bills, citing unnamed "Leading Medical, Crime, and Economic Studies".

Just the News, which covered the post more briefly, quoted Trump saying that "Even most farmers would rather have additional time in the evening to harvest their crops" and that changing clocks is "foolish, inconvenient and, in some cases, very costly." Raw Story describes the Truth Social post as 385 words long and quotes Trump saying a recent case was made that the time change is also bad for health "in the anxiety it creates." Newsweek says Cotton has raised a concern, shared by some of the public, that permanent daylight saving time would push winter sunrises too late in many parts of the country, risking children walking to school in darkness. Trump said Cotton was acting "for reasons unknown".

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Presents the post as a late-night, last-minute attack on a lone GOP senator, noting the Senate is already in recess until after the midterms.
Emphasis
Timing of the post, Trump's long list of claimed benefits, and the recess.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give the House vote count or Cotton's stated concerns about dark mornings.
For example
“President Donald Trump singled out a lone GOP senator late Thursday night in a last-minute call to action” — Raw Story

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Straightforward report of Trump's attack on Cotton as the push for permanent daylight saving time stalls.
Emphasis
The House 308-117 vote, the bill's name, and Cotton's stated concern about children in darkness.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention that the Senate is in recess until after the midterms.
For example
“The House passed the measure to introduce permanent daylight savings time in July, with a bipartisan 308-117 vote, but it still needs Senate approval before it can become law.” — Newsweek

Right1 outlet

Framing
Frames the story as Trump urging the Senate to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, with Cotton's alleged obstruction in the subheadline and the health and financial benefits Trump cites.
Emphasis
Trump's own quoted arguments, including farmers and cost.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give the House 308-117 vote, the Senate recess, or Cotton's concern about dark winter mornings.
For example
“Trump claimed that Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is holding up passage of the bill "for reasons unknown."” — Just the News
“The president argued the bill would have health and financial benefits.” — Just the News