Trump Shrugs Off Global Economic Chaos for New Priority: Daylight Savings Time
The president is urging Congress to stop changing the clocks.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The world’s money markets may be in uproar, but President Donald Trump thinks time is on his side.
The president took time off from tariff discussions on Friday to call on Congress to adopt permanent daylight saving time.
“The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
The Senate Commerce Committee is considering a plan to stave off the dark evenings and spare Americans the inconvenience of changing their clocks twice a year.
Lawmakers are conflicted on whether to save light in the mornings or at night.
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Perhaps one clue to Trump’s interest is that the golf industry is lobbying for permanent daylight saving to allow players to keep swinging later into the evening.
Advocates for permanent standard time say the darker evenings will help people get a better night’s sleep.
“I personally struggle with the two choices here because it’s a question of what do you care about more: sunshine and joy and fun and money, or health, mental health, physical health,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz said. ”And the honest answer for most people, gosh, I care about all that stuff.”
Sen. Todd Young is worried his Indiana constituents would wake up in darkness in winter.
“Hoosiers would begin their day in darkness for much of winter. What works for East Coast states, I’m hearing from many of my constituents, may not work for states like Indiana,” he said, according to Politico. “A one-size-fits-all national policy of time changes doesn’t take into account the regional differences that significantly impact daily life.”
The time changes are unpopular with Americans, according to a November 2021 Economist/YouGov poll that showed 63 percent of those surveyed said they would like to get rid of them, compared to just 16 percent who wanted them to stay.
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