PoliticsDonald Trump Says an Extra Hour of Sunlight Can 'Decrease Murder Rates' and 'Boost' the Economy
Donald Trump made a slew of claims to support his push for year-round daylight saving time.
Aug. 13 2026, Updated 6:08 p.m. ET
President Donald Trump has publicly urged the U.S. Senate to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, claiming year-round daylight saving time and its extra hour of evening sunlight will help decrease robbery and murder rates.
His remarks on Truth Social follow the House of Representatives' passage of the bipartisan bill in a 308–117 vote to make daylight saving time permanent.
While criminology and public safety studies debate the exact impact of evening light on homicides, the legislation continues to spark discussion about public safety, health and economic impacts.
Donald Trump Lists Benefits of the Sunshine Protection Act
Donald Trump said studies have shown that more sunlight in the evening leads to decreased robberies and murders.
In his latest push to eliminate the twice-yearly clock changes, Trump outlined a sweeping list of societal benefits.
He asked Republican senators to pass the bill immediately so it could be sent to his desk.
Trump posted, “Leading Medical, Crime, and Economic Studies have shown that ceasing the biannual time change, giving us one extra hour of natural sunlight in the evenings, will help Decrease Robbery and Murder Rates, Reduce Car Accidents (especially those involving Pedestrians!), Lower Risk for Cardiac Issues, Stroke, and Seasonal Depression, Make It Safer for Children to Walk Home from School, Increase Time with your Family, Strongly Support Extracurricular Activities, Be a Big Boost to Sports, Fitness, Tourism, Retail, and the Restaurant Industries (and more!), and Save Money on Energy Bills, because everyone will be enjoying an EXTRA HOUR OF DAYLIGHT.”
Reports Are Mixed
The president wants to enact year-round daylight saving time.
While Trump cited "leading medical, crime, and economic studies" to support his message, data regarding violent crime yields mixed conclusions.
There is strong academic consensus that extra evening daylight reduces robberies. Criminals typically leverage the cover of early evening darkness to target victims; extending daylight pushes those high-risk hours into safer visibility.
However, criminologists have found little to no statistical evidence that daylight saving time reduces homicides. A prominent 2012 Stanford University working paper initially noticed a drop in evening murders right after the spring time change, but subsequent thorough analysis proved the correlation was not statistically significant.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
The proposal is known as the Sunshine Protection Act
A comprehensive study published in the journal Lighting Research & Technology analyzed data from 11 major U.S. cities and found no definitive link between increased natural daylight and lower murder rates.
Though the bill cleared the House with a strong bipartisan majority, it faces friction in the Senate due to the practical realities of permanently shifting the clock.
Detractors point to several factors against the bill, including the fact that the sun would not rise until very late (potentially past 8:30 a.m.) in several states during winter, and, as a result, schoolchildren and morning commuters would routinely walk or travel in pitch darkness.
Some are against the change, noting it can affect farming operations.
Lawmakers from heavy agricultural and Midwestern sectors note later sunrises disrupt farming operations.
While a previous version of the bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2022 before dying in the House, the positions have flipped.
With Trump exerting public pressure, political analysts suggest Senate leadership may face increased pressure to bring the bill to a final vote.
