Will The MyPillow Guy Really Run For Office?
Every so often a political candidate captures the imaginations of the public, breathing new life into the stale, hot air that often fills the lungs of politicians. They might be long shots, but their presence is a shot of adrenaline, however fleeting. As detailed by the Guardian, in 2017, the contenders vying to become UK Prime Minister included colorful characters like Howling "Laud" Hope of the Monster Raving Loony Party, Lord Buckethead — who's hopefully the same Lord Buckethead who challenged Margaret Thatcher decades earlier — and "Mr Fishfinger, a man dressed as a piece of frozen food."
In 2016, the U.S. saw Deez Nuts rise to prominence when Jimmy McMillan of the Rent Is Too Damn High party touted the teen as someone who might help get the ball rolling on efforts to address skyrocketing housing costs. But while all of these people would have been nuts to think they could win, the same can't be as easily said for the MyPillow guy, Mike Lindell. On March 30, 2020, Politico reported that President Donald Trump has been encouraging Lindell to run for Minnesota governor in 2022. An anonymous source quoted Lindell as saying "[Trump] really wants me to run." Will the MyPillow guy try to become MyGovernor of Minnesota or put that political dream to bed?
MyPillow talk
Obviously, we can't see into the future, but the past suggests the MyPillow guy is interested in tossing his hat into the political ring. A vocal ally of President Donald Trump, Mike Lindell featured as a speaker during an October 2019 "Keep America Great" rally, where CBS reports that he praised the POTUS and his second in command as "the greatest President and Vice-President in U.S. History."
Earlier that year, Lindell sparked speculation about his political aspirations by tearing into Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar. Conservative media outlets like the site magaMedia hailed Lindell as a "Trump supporter and superior American patriot" after he accused the Democratic congresswoman of letting her state down and vowed "to do so much in Minnesota over the next year and a half, you won't even see any blue." He also said he would run for Congress if God wanted him to.
Lindell later laid the resulting wave of questions to rest on Fox and Friends, saying his comments were "kinda taken all out of context." However, he didn't rule out a future political run but rather said, "Not at this time." He wanted to focus on helping Trump's reelection effort but said he would have loved to oust Ilhan Omar from her seat. If the 2020 presidential election goes Trump's way, Lindell would arguably be free to use his platform to promote himself. It's unclear if he'll announce his intentions beforehand, but it appears that people hoping for a MyGovernor have reason to dream.