Former President Donald Trump has announced an initiative to abolish daylight saving time (DST), describing it as "inconvenient" and "very costly" for American citizens. He shared his views via his social media platform, Truth Social, asserting that while DST enjoys a "small but strong constituency," it should not persist in its current form.
Daylight saving time involves shifting clocks an hour forward in the spring and back in the fall to optimize the usage of daylight. Widely practiced across a third of the globe, particularly in Europe and North America, DST has long been met with resistance from various groups in the United States. Advocates for ending the practice argue that standard time is more beneficial for health, leading to improved sleep patterns, while opponents advocate for permanent DST, highlighting its benefits for evening activities, energy conservation, and road safety.
Historically, clocks were first adjusted during World War I to save fuel, but the practice faced backlash from farmers. Today, states such as Hawaii and most of Arizona have opted out of DST altogether. Trump's proposal follows prior legislative attempts to reform DST, including the Sunshine Protection Act introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which failed to reach President Biden.
Research from London School of Economics’ Joan Costa-i-Font indicates that the end of DST might not only improve public health but could also yield significant economic gains—estimated at €754 (approximately $792) per individual annually. Notably, in a recent Monmouth University poll, about two-thirds of Americans expressed a preference for making DST a permanent fixture.
As discussions surrounding time change practices continue globally, Trump's position raises further questions on the societal impacts of maintaining or abolishing DST in the modern age. With countries like Mexico and Jordan recently ending the practice, as well as Turkey and Russia adopting permanent DST, the debate is far from over.
