Trump’s biggest supporter who pushed conspiracy theories loses $100 million and blames everyone except himself
Mike Lindell, the My Pillow Inc chief executive, is one of the biggest allies and supporters of former president Donald Trump. Lindell is among the few who consistently supported Trump for his January 6 claims and all other Trump conspiracy theories in past few years.
The successful businessman who stands next to Trump in every and each occasion will now probably have to pay the price for his past actions.
Mike Lindell announced earlier this month an extensive auction comprising more than 800 items. The sale was an inevitable response to a staggering loss exceeding $100 million in retail sales, necessitating the disposal of surplus inventory, including equipment from his renowned pillow factory in Minnesota.
The comprehensive auction was hosted on K-BID Online Auctions and reached its conclusion on July 18, 2023. A diverse array of 824 items were offered, as detailed on the listing page. The assortment ranged from a 2005 Dodge Sprinter Van, notably possessing a cracked windshield, to modern technological devices such as Apple iMacs, along with furniture like a stained ottoman.
During an interview with Minnesota’s WCCO television station, Lindell articulated that the auction’s inception was a strategic adaptation towards a direct-to-consumer business model. MyPillow, facing an overabundance of stock, required this extraordinary measure to ensure continued operation for its employees.
“We have all this retail stuff. The retailers have abandoned us. What are we supposed to do, everybody? Just paperweights there? No, we are auctioning it off,” Lindell said in a Facebook livestream on Monday.
“Before they did this to MyPillow, we were so big that we needed like four times of the equipment we had right now to make retail packaging, to make the retail pillows,” Lindell continued. “So my guys said, ‘Hey, can we get rid of some of this stuff and sublease part of that building?’ Which we said, ‘Fine.'”
The pillow magnate has been no stranger to controversy, having previously disclosed to WCCO in January that his vehement endorsement of former President Donald Trump’s unverified election-fraud claims triggered a substantial $100 million loss in retail sales for MyPillow.
Lindell refrained from commenting immediately on the question of further asset liquidation. However, it was noted that he continued to use his private plane as of October, despite a curious incident in which the plane’s door detached while preparing for travel to a conservative event.
The turbulent environment surrounding Lindell is further complicated by the engagement of a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit by both Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic. The accusations level against him pertain to his persistent advocacy of election-fraud allegations.
The repercussions of Lindell’s political affiliations have pervaded his business dealings as well. In June of the previous year, Walmart confirmed that MyPillow products would no longer be available at the shelves of their physical stores, albeit remaining accessible online. A chain reaction followed with other retailers such as Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond, QVC, JCPenney, and Wayfair similarly disengaging from Lindell’s brand.
Further illustrating the gravity of his situation, Lindell found himself severed from the Minnesota Bank & Trust in February of last year, a mere month subsequent to the institution designating him a “reputation risk.” This confluence of legal, political, and financial challenges paints a complex portrait of a man at a crossroads, seeking to navigate through both business adaptation and reputational recuperation.
Lindell, as usual, blames everyone for his business failing apart except himself and his past actions.
