“MyPillow – For the Best Night’s Sleep in the Whole Wide World”
Everyone remembers the ads for MyPillow.
In case you missed out on this cultural icon, check out Mike Lindell in all his glory:
The whole ad campaign looked like something I’d wake up on the couch to in 2001 at 3 in the morning. Very sham-wow! type of marketing.
I vaguely remember Mike Lindell making an ass out of himself a few times, but honestly never paid him much attention. Apparently I missed something, because dude is now running for Minnesota Governor and has Trump’s Endorsement.
The F*CK!?
It should make sense – Trump is a TV personality and Mike Lindell is, kind of a TV personality. Birds of a feather, I guess? All jokes aside, I don’t know enough about Mike Lindell to say whether he’s a good candidate or not, so…now I do my research thang.
I’ll look at a short history of Lindell and MyPillow’s history, then look at why he was controversial, and finally, what his main issues are for his campaign.
Then, if I still think he’s worth trashing, I’ll trash him. If I change my mind, I’ll buy a My Pillow and post a selfie with it.
How Mike Became the MyPillow Guy
Finding a good source for his bio that wasn’t Wikipedia, My Pillow’s own site, or an article about how he used to do crack was difficult. From what I gather from the combination, he was born in 1961 in Mankato, MN. He was raised in Chaska and Carver, MN. He developed a gambling addiction as a teen and later became addicted to cocaine. Mike did a brief stint at the U of M but did not complete any degree, instead dropping out to keep doing cocaine and gambling. Lindell hit rock bottom when he lost his house, wife and family. That reads like a country song! Another country song-esque statement: He found sobriety through prayer in 2009. Note: I will never make fun of someone who struggled with addiction and found sobriety, no matter how they did it. Regardless of if Mike turns out to be a monster, this should be celebrated.
MyPillow was founded by Mike in 2004, manufacturing these interlocking foam pillows right here in MN. More on his company’s reviews and standings later. In addition to the big MP, Lindell also operates two websites: Volcl, and LindellTV. His philanthropic works include donations to the Salvation Army and the Union Gospel Mission. Lindell also founded the Lindell Foundation and the Lindell Recovery Network, both working to free addicts from their addictions. I can get on board with that.
In 2016, Lindell met with DJT and has been a staunch supporter since. He’s tried and failed to get into politics since, and on December 2025, announced his intent to run for the Governor of MN. Trump gave him his support on December 11th.
Short bio done, let’s look into the controversies surrounding Lindell!
Lindell’s Controversial Takes and Litigations
As promised, we’re gonna take a deeper look at the “success” of MyPillow, the reason Mike Lindell rose to meme fame. In 2017, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) revoked their accreditation of the MyPillow company. The core reason was because of a continuous “Buy One Get One” deal that MyPillow ran. Quote, “‘Among other issues, BBB has attempted to persuade MyPillow to discontinue their “buy one get one free” (BOGO)/other discount offers without success,’ said Dana Badgerow, president and CEO of BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota. ‘Continuous BOGO offers, which can then be construed as an item’s regular, everyday price, violate not only BBB’s Code of Advertising – which all BBB Accredited Businesses agree to abide by – but also other state and national organizations’ rules.’”.
What about the other issues that Dana mentioned? Here they are:
- “As Seen on TV” claims are sometimes listed on MyPillow boxes where the content is NOT the same as seen on the company’s TV ads. The company has made an effort to remove this, but it can still be seen on third party seller packaging (Walmart, Target, etc.)
- Photos of MyPillow on some boxes show the premium, gusseted pillow, when the box actually holds their standard pillow. The company has made an effort to correct this, but it can still be seen on some third party seller packaging.
- Claims of offering a “full warranty” when the warranty was not full (customers need to pay a fee to return the pillow).
- A pattern of complaints filed against MyPillow has been identified by BBB regarding customers’ understanding of the buy one/get one free offer. A substantial number of the 232 complaints filed against the company regard confusion on the offer.
Mike Lindell addressed the BBB complaints and them pulling MyPillow’s accreditation by promising to work to get it back and comply with the rules. That was 2017. It’s still not accredited. In 2024, MyPillow was evicted from their Shakopee warehouse due to months of unpaid rent.
Time to check out the lawsuits he and his companies have been involved in.
- Sept ’25: Judge finds that Mike Lindell falsely claimed that Smartmatic voting machines helped rig the 2020 election, damages of 9-figures are being pursued
- Oct ’25: Lindell is sued for failing to pay the $5M contest prize for his “Prove Mike Wrong’ campaign where he asked people to prove that the 2020 Smartmatic machines were not tainted – the winner successfully proved it and was not paid
- Nov ’25: Lindell and MyPillow are jointly sued for an unpaid $2.3M loan
Seems like dude does not like to pay his debts, and doesn’t care if facts get in the way of the narrative Trump pushed about the 2020 election.
Now for the real wiggity-whack shiiiit.
Obviously, Lindell buys into the 2020 stolen election conspiracy theory. So much so that he made a documentary that aired on One America News (OAN), entitled “Absolute Proof“. The documentary is the main source of truth for the Smartmatic defamation suit, and OAN put in a disclaimer before the airing of the doc that distanced them from the content. The film won two awards!
- The 2021 Razzie Winner for Worst Picture
- The 2021 Razzie Winnter for Worst Actor (Mike Lindell)
His line of “securing elections” seems to be the main line he’s riding for his campaign. In August, 2023, he stated that he planned to use Drone Surveillance of Louisiana’s polling locations to “catch the lie”. This campaign was likely illegal and had no clearance from state election officials.
Watching his videos, it’s apparent that he fully supports ICE – even when they kill U.S. Citizens. He denies that video evidence of ICE using excessive force and arresting U.S. citizens is “real”, stating our local media is just trying to spin it. He also claims all cases against him won on appeal, and he was found innocent **note, not true**.
His number one goal for his Governorship, should he win? Reducing welfare costs. He denies ever benefitting from welfare programs, stating he beat his addiction “by the grace of God, overnight”. He wants to cut funding for schools. He wants to reduce the costs of healthcare. He wants to cut or remove sales tax for goods bought locally in brick-and-mortar stores. Also, he wants to stop fraud.
So..in theory, cutting costs for us in the state is good. We pay a lot of taxes here in MN, no one can claim otherwise. Do I trust a guy who is constantly getting sued for defamation, breaking his contracts and has been in other financial trouble to do that for us? Nah.
Another issue I have with Lindell is his use of faith as a tool. He is almost always seen wearing a cross necklace, pin, etc. There seems to be a trend with people who wear the cross all the time being actual ghouls…like Bondi! If his faith is that strong, love that for him. If his faith is his campaign, hate it. The Church needs to stay out of Government and vice versa. On questions like abortion and freedom of religion, we need someone who can separate the two. Abortion is a legal issue, not a faith one. Freedom of religion seems to be understood as “freedom to be Christian” by many people these days. I want a candidate who will protect everyone’s rights to religion.
Summary
So, here are my thoughts. I do agree that taxes and spending in MN need to be looked at. I think the fraud issue is blown WAY out of proportion, but does need to be investigated. I expect all candidates to take a hard stance against it. Mike Lindell’s goal of cutting these costs is something I could support.
HOWEVER.
I can’t support someone who will continue to beat a dead conspiracy horse despite ALL the facts to the contrary. This shows alignment to a person (Trump) and the people of the U.S. I don’t believe he can objectively tackle sensitive issues without interjecting his own faith, and I worry he will only protect Christians.
Overall, I see Lindell as a lot like Trump. He’s an opportunist – using his campaign to sell his products and vice versa. Lindell cares for Lindell, just like Trump cares for Trump.
No MyPillow selfie for you guys 😦 I’ll be sticking with my Serta!
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