Trump defends doxing Sen. Tom Cotton over daylight saving time dispute

Trump Defends Doxing Senator Tom Cotton Over Daylight Saving Time Dispute

Publication Date: 2026-10-05

President Donald Trump expressed no remorse over publicly posting Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton's personal phone number, defending the action as a tactic to pressure Cotton into supporting Trump's position on daylight saving time.

Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Trump said: "We want to get away from this ridiculous way and custom of—every twice a year, turning your clocks back, turning your clocks forward, being late to dinner, being late for very important meetings, it's ridiculous. We don't want to change clocks twice a year. It's very expensive, it's got many problems."

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act in July, aiming to eliminate daylight saving time across all 50 states. However, Cotton's opposition—primarily over concerns about dark winter mornings—has stalled the bill in the Senate.

Cotton addressed the issue on the Senate floor last year, warning that in parts of Arkansas, sunrise would not occur until after 8 a.m. if daylight saving time were abolished, forcing children, commuters, farmers, and construction workers to start their days in darkness.

Responding to Trump's remarks on X Saturday, Cotton wrote: "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changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter.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."

Trump's pressure campaign drew criticism from Cotton's fellow Senate Republicans. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy told NBC News that Trump "can go from zero to a–hole in about three seconds."

"Every now and then, there are disputes in Congress that have existential significance for the future of Western civilization. Daylight savings time is not one of them," Kennedy told Kristen Welker on Sunday. "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."

Karoline Leavitt Joins Fox News

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt—who resigned from her post in August to spend more time with family after the birth of her second child—has accepted a new position at Fox News.

"Karoline's firsthand experience in the White House and on the presidential campaign trail gives her a distinct understanding of today's political landscape," Fox News Media chief executive Suzanne Scott said in a statement.

In her own statement, Leavitt promised to bring "the unique perspective and candor that defined my tenure with the Trump administration."

Leavitt joined the Trump administration in 2019 and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in New Hampshire in 2024 before returning to serve as White House press secretary. At 28, she was the youngest press secretary in history and has still not been replaced. She frequently made headlines for false statements, including:

• Lying about Trump blocking $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza
• Blaming a deadly collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines flight on DEI
• Calling the Epstein files a "Democratic hoax"
• Falsely claiming that wrongly deported Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García was a "foreign terrorist" and "MS-13 gang member" engaged in human trafficking

Trump's "machine gun" will appear across various shows and time blocks on the right-wing network, using her voice and institutional legitimacy to push what is expected to be an unapologetically pro-Trump agenda.

Leaked Audio Reveals Ken Paxton's Frustration Over Lack of Campaign Control

In a leaked audio recording, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton lamented that he is not in control of his own campaign.

Speaking at a fundraiser in September, Paxton said: "I've never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it's all coming—you know—from D.C. I don't control the message or what we're doing. I don't have ability to change anything. So I have to live with whatever I've got. So it is a challenge."

The audio, shared with Politico and published Monday, was leaked by someone who does not support Paxton and confirmed by another attendee. One attendee said Paxton never specifically referred to Donald Trump's team. Nick Maddux, Paxton's campaign adviser, said the candidate was "obviously" referring to the fact that campaigns do not coordinate with super PACs.

Trump has repeatedly pledged support for Paxton's election but has hesitated to commit any part of his $400 million MAGA Inc. war chest to help him win. Instead, Trump has focused on making the midterm elections a referendum on his own presidency. Last month, Trump held a fundraiser in Houston touted as a lifeline to Paxton's campaign—but the money actually went to the Republican National Convention, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Paxton has struggled to match Democratic candidate James Talarico's funding. According to their latest quarterly filings with the Federal Election Commission, Talarico's campaign raised $31.6 million, while Paxton raised only $9.3 million. The latest New York Times/Siena poll found Paxton trailing Talarico by six points.

This is the second leaked audio involving Paxton. Last month, he was caught privately criticizing Trump's midterm convention.

Brazil Presidential Election Heads to Runoff; Trump Administration Watches Closely

The Trump administration is closely monitoring Brazil's presidential election results.

Over the weekend, right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro—son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and President Trump's preferred candidate—advanced to a runoff with incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist.

The White House has done all it can to boost Bolsonaro and cement Trump's influence over Latin America. Trump has backed conservative allies in Colombia and Argentina and orchestrated the kidnapping of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro. The day after Maduro was brought to the U.S. in January, the State Department posted a picture on social media with Trump and the slogan, "This is OUR hemisphere."

In total, seven right-wing candidates have won presidential elections across Latin America in the last 18 months, with Trump publicly backing most of them.

"We're doing very well in South America," Trump said in September. "Lots of people that I got elected."

Trump was a strong supporter of the elder Bolsonaro, and they share notable similarities. Bolsonaro refused to accept losing Brazil's 2022 elections to Lula, and his supporters stormed government buildings in response. Unlike in the U.S., Bolsonaro and his allies were arrested and put on trial for the coup attempt, with investigators uncovering a plot to kill Lula and his running mate.

Trump responded by threatening Brazil with exorbitant tariffs over the "witch hunt" in July 2025. Undeterred, Lula proceeded with Bolsonaro's trial, and the former president was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison. In May of this year, Lula and Trump had a frosty meeting with no cameras at the White House. As elections neared, Trump dispatched two State Department officials to investigate "electoral integrity," only for Brazil to deny their visas and accuse them of interfering in the country's elections.

Lula used Trump's efforts in his reelection campaign, accusing Flávio Bolsonaro of being "Trump's candidate," and called out Trump at the United Nations General Assembly last month. It remains to be seen whether those efforts will help Lula win the October 25 runoff.

Polls Show Latino Voters Abandoning Trump

Two recent polls indicate that the majority of Latino voters have abandoned President Trump, reaffirming a trend that has been building since he returned to office and began his immigration crackdown.

The new NBC News/Telemundo poll shows Latinos favoring Democrats by a margin of 59 percent in the upcoming midterm elections, nearly doubling their support from 2024. The new CBS News/YouGov poll tells a similar story, with 60 percent of Latino voters preferring Democratic House candidates. Overall, 69 percent of Latino voters disapprove of President Trump's performance ahead of the midterms.

This comes two years after Trump won a groundbreaking 42 percent of Latino voters, sparking discussion about a new multicultural Republican coalition. That prospect appears to have faded, as those same voters have responded negatively to Trump's handling of the economy, his lack of action on the affordability crisis, and his mass deportation campaign.

However, this does not necessarily mean these voters will automatically turn out for Democrats—42 percent of Latinos still hold a negative view of the party, which has not fully capitalized on two years of violent arrests, kidnappings, shootings, pepper ball incidents, and killings.

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