U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) criticized President Donald J. Trump after he posted the cellphone number of a GOP Senate colleague on Truth Social over the weekend to pressure him into falling in line.
In an effort to get holdout Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on board with the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time permanent all year long, the president shared the Razorback State Republican’s number in a Saturday post to Truth Social.
“Call Tom on his cellphone at, 479-453-0533, and let him know. ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ was passed in the House by a Vote of 308 to 117. HAVE THE SENATE VOTE, NOW!” Trump wrote.
But that didn’t sit well with Kennedy, who is known for his down-home wisdom and Southern fried humor, and he was asked about Trump’s post on this week’s edition of “Meet the Press,” the long-running NBC News Sunday morning flagship.
Sen John Kennedy defends Tom Cotton, calls Trump an A-Hole
“Tom is a rock star senator. If you get between him and what’s best for Arkansas, he’ll devour you like a light snack.”
“The president, as we know… can be tempestuous. He can go from zero to a-hole in about three seconds.”
“I don’t think he should have given out Tom’s cell phone number.”
— Mr Producer (@RichSementa) October 4, 2026
“On Saturday, President Trump posted Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton’s cell phone number because he objected to the senator blocking a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent,” asked host Kristen Welker. “How does that help the Republican Party a month out from the midterm, senator?
“Every now and then, there are disputes in Congress that have existential significance for the future of Western civilization,” Kennedy responded. “Daylight Savings Time is not one of them. Tom Cotton feels strongly about it. Tom is a rockstar senator. If you get between him and what’s best for Arkansas, he’ll devour you like a light snack.”
“President Trump’s also my friend. He feels strongly about it. The president, as we know, can be sometimes — he — he exists loudly. He can be tempestuous,” he continued.
“He can go from zero to a-hole in about three seconds. I don’t think he should have given out Tom’s cell phone number. I don’t think that’s going to help convince Tom. And I have your cell phone number, but I promise not to give it out,” Kennedy told Welker.
The “rock star” senator responded to Trump’s putting him on blast by emphasizing that he represents the voters in Arkansas. He also pointed out that there have been prior efforts to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, but all have been rolled back once people experienced it.
No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter. Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 3, 2026
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter. Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first,” Cotton wrote in a Saturday post to X.
The Louisiana senator also left the door open for a potential 2028 White House run during his conversation with Welker after she brought it up.
“Why not me to mug your blues away?” Kennedy said. “But I haven’t made a decision. If a bunch of, on my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers run, and — and I think they’re goobers, and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running.”
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