{"id":6423,"date":"2026-08-05T01:30:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6423"},"modified":"2026-08-05T01:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T01:30:07","slug":"mike-lindell-mypillow-ceo-steps-down-from-post-to-run-as-minnesota-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6423","title":{"rendered":"Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO, steps down from post to run as Minnesota governor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"e5810984-d398-4c57-b16e-369955228968\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man in a blue suit walking, clutching a book and a cellphone in one hand.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3a26aa7bee11dfab7497c23e13af4cb5f6b42141\/0_0_6568_4589\/master\/6568.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"324.8911388550548\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Mike Lindell walks into federal district court for a defamation trial in Denver in 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Jack Dempsey\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"e5810984-d398-4c57-b16e-369955228968\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Mike Lindell walks into federal district court for a defamation trial in Denver in 2025.<\/span> Photograph: Jack Dempsey\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO, steps down from post to run as Minnesota governor<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Trump loyalist, who also has president\u2019s endorsement, has spent millions trying to prove 2020 election was \u2018stolen\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Mike Lindell is leaving his role with the company to focus on his campaign to become the next governor of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/minnesota\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Minnesota<\/a>. In a social media post published Tuesday, Lindell said that the company is strong enough to withstand his departure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis decision is not about walking away. It is about stepping forward to serve. I am putting Minnesota above myself, my title, and my business interests so I can give this campaign and the people of our state my full time, energy, and attention,\u201d Lindell said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lindell, who has been endorsed by Donald Trump, is a longtime loyalist of the president who has spent millions of dollars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2022\/oct\/25\/mike-lindell-mypillow-trump-big-lie-midterms\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">trying to prove<\/a> that the 2020 election was rife with fraud. He says that his run is meant to disrupt the state\u2019s political establishment.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"08f2ab4a-bacf-49bd-80e2-f46087c0fd15\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/man-arrested-trump-california-golf-course\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Armed man arrested at Trump\u2019s California golf course<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe establishment hasn\u2019t done anything for us,\u201d he said. \u201cPeope can\u2019t afford to live and I wanna make Minnesota affordable again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lindell, a Minnesota native, is currently in court fighting a lawsuit filed by state senate hopeful Dan Fiskum who, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/cah\/assets\/0320-41898-fiskum-lindell-campaign-violation-prima-facie-order_tcm19-762139.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">lawsuit filed on 22 July<\/a>, claims that Lindell violated campaign finance policies by passing out pillows that had \u201cMike Lindell for Governor\u201d written on the package.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Lindell called Fiskum\u2019s allegations, \u201ca complete lie\u201d, and expects the judge will rule in his favor soon. He adds that he and his campaign checked with the state\u2019s campaign finance board to ensure they could pass out the promotional pillows, which Lindell says cost less than $5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis is all a hit job, we are not in violation at all,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an attack on me running for governor, because the GOP didn\u2019t like that I got Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In recent years, Lindell has had to pay out millions of dollars for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jun\/16\/mypillow-mike-lindell-defamation-trial\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">defaming a former employee<\/a> of a voting machine company and to another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2023\/apr\/20\/mike-lindell-mypillow-trump-2020-election-lie\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">man who debunked data<\/a> Lindell used to advance Trump\u2019s false claim that his 2020 election defeat was the result of voting fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Minnesota\u2019s primary elections will be held on 11 August.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US news<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/minnesota\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Minnesota<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Mike%20Lindell,%20MyPillow%20CEO,%20steps%20down%20from%20post%20to%20run%20as%20Minnesota%20governor&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/mike-lindell-mypillow-ceo-minnesota-governor?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F04%2Fmike-lindell-mypillow-ceo-minnesota-governor&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/mike-lindell-mypillow-ceo-minnesota-governor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike Lindell walks into federal district court for a defamation trial in Denver in 2025. Photograph: Jack Dempsey\/AP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6426,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6423\/revisions\/6426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}