Trump says Mike Lindell ‘deserves’ to be Minnesota governor — but it’s not an endorsement

Mike Lindell is thanking President Donald Trump for shouting out his bid for governor of Minnesota, but the businessman said on Dec. 22 that he didn’t view it as an endorsement in the state’s competitive Republican contest.

Lindell is just one in a crowded field of Republicans who are seeking to challenge DFL Gov. Tim Walz next year, and most have said they want the president’s backing as they court party activists. But the MyPillow CEO’s long personal history with Trump is paying off in attention, if not outright backing, from the president, who called him out at a rally in North Carolina on Friday night.

Addressing a crowd in Rocky Mount, N.C., Trump said Lindell “suffered” for pushing election fraud theories about the 2020 presidential race.

“These people went after him, they went after his company. They did that with me, too, but at least I knew what I was getting into,” Trump said. “He fought like hell. That guy deserves to be governor of Minnesota.”

Lindell’s relentless promotion of the debunked theory that voting machines rigged the 2020 election cost him immensely. Many big-box retailers dropped MyPillow in 2021, and Lindell is on the hook for more than $2.3 million in damages, pending appeal, following a defamation verdict in a suit brought by a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems.

Trump’s comments quickly invited speculation over the weekend of whether he had formally endorsed Lindell in the GOP race for Minnesota governor.

In a brief interview Monday, Lindell said he did not view Trump’s comments at the North Carolina rally as an endorsement of his campaign for governor.

“When he gives an endorsement, he puts out, ‘I give my complete and 100 percent [support],’” he added.

Still, Lindell thanked Trump for the mention and acknowledgment of the attacks he’s faced over his election fraud theories.

“We need to secure our elections,” Lindell said, “and I’ve spent a lot of money on getting them secure.”

Lindell’s close relationship with Trump could give him a leg up over the other GOP candidates vying for the president’s backing. He regularly speaks with Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and told reporters earlier this month that the president’s former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is advising him.

But Lindell has noted that Trump did not endorse him when he ran for chair of the Republican National Committee a few years ago.

“We are seeking it, and if he does, then game over, match,” businessman Kendall Qualls said at a gubernatorial forum in southwestern Minnesota earlier this month.

While Lindell has deep ties to Trump’s world, some Republicans think it’s possible he won’t get the president’s endorsement. Trump has generally been cautious about backing candidates who could lose the general election.

Lindell’s continued promotion of election fraud conspiracies would likely be a liability in the general election, and possibly even in a GOP primary. Walz, who is facing intense scrutiny for his handling of fraud in state welfare programs, has appeared eager to run against Lindell as he tries to make his re-election campaign a referendum on Trump.

Lindell has quickly gained support from Minnesota right-wing groups and figures since he announced his campaign less than two weeks ago. He said Monday that he’s raised “upwards of three-hundred-and-some-thousand” dollars so far.

“It’s going really good,” Lindell said.