Doxxing by Daylight: Trump's Cotton Gambit

Giselle Wyche

President Donald Trump has created a huge wave of political backlash after publicly sharing the personal cellphone number of Sen. Tom Cotton on Truth Social, escalating tensions over a stalled bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. According to Fox News, Trump posted the number, urging Arkansas voters to pressure Cotton into supporting the Sunshine Protection Act, which he claims should have already passed with bipartisan support.

Trump criticized Cotton for stopping the bill and emphasized that a single senator can halt legislation. In his post on Truth Social, Trump encouraged voters to “tell Tom to GET IT DONE!” and included Cotton’s phone number at the end of the post. Fox News attempted to call the number but could not reach the senator.

While Trump framed the post as a push for government efficiency, the incident has raised concerns about privacy, digital harassment and the precedent of a sitting president publicly releasing a lawmaker’s personal contact information. Trump defended his position, calling the current time-change system “ridiculous” and claiming Americans overwhelmingly want more evening daylight and are tired of changing clocks twice a year.

This incident also mirrors Trump’s earlier history with phone number controversies, including a well-known moment in 2015 when he revealed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s phone number during a campaign rally. As debate over the Sunshine Protection Act continues, Trump’s latest move is raising broader questions about political pressure, professional boundaries and the changing norms of public leadership on social media.