Mike Lindell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mike Lindell
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Lindell in 2023
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Michael James Lindell
June 28, 1961 Mankato, Minnesota, U.S.
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| Occupation | Founder and CEO of My Pillow |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 4 |
Michael James Lindell (born June 28, 1961) is an American businessman. He is also known as the My Pillow Guy. He started and is the boss of My Pillow, a company that makes pillows, bedding, and slippers.
Lindell is a strong supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump. After the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Lindell shared ideas about the election results that were not proven true. He also promoted health treatments for COVID-19 that were not scientifically proven.
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About Mike Lindell
Lindell was born in 1961 in Mankato, Minnesota. He grew up in Chaska and Carver, Minnesota. After high school, he went to the University of Minnesota. However, he left college after only a few months.
His Career and Businesses
In the 1980s, Lindell started many small businesses. These included cleaning carpets and running food trucks. He also owned some bars and restaurants in Carver County, Minnesota.
My Pillow Company
Lindell created My Pillow in 2004. It is a special pillow filled with pieces of shredded foam that fit together. He grew his business into a big manufacturing company in Minnesota.
In 2017, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) removed My Pillow's special rating. They lowered its score because many customers complained. The BBB said that a "buy one, get one free" offer was always available. This meant it was the normal price, not a special sale. Lindell said he was very sad about this decision.
In 2020, Lindell made his son, Darren, the main manager of the company. Lindell said he might want to get involved in politics in the future.
Some large stores stopped selling My Pillow products in 2021. Lindell thought this was because of his statements about the 2020 United States presidential election. But stores like Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond said it was because customers were not buying enough. In 2023, MyPillow sold some equipment and rented out factory space. This happened after more stores, like Walmart, stopped selling their products.
Frank Website
| Type of business | Private |
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Type of site
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Video streaming |
| Available in | English |
| Founder(s) | Mike Lindell |
| Industry | Internet |
Lindell runs two websites under the name "Frank." One is Frank (also called FrankSpeech), which is mainly for watching videos. The other is FrankSocial, which is a social media site.
In March 2021, Lindell talked about plans for a new social media platform. He said it would be like YouTube and Twitter combined. He first called it Vocl, but changed the name to Frank after a problem with another company. Frank launched on April 19, 2021. It had many technical problems. Lindell said these were due to a "massive attack." Frank mainly shows videos. One video, Absolute Interference, shared ideas about the 2020 election that were not proven true.
Lindell has said he spent millions of dollars to create Frank. Reports from his IT team showed he spent about $936,000 to launch Frank. An expert on online groups said Lindell might be spending too much money. Lindell told Insider in March 2022 that he was spending over $1 million each month on Frank.
FrankSocial, the social networking site, started in April 2022. A reporter said it looked like Facebook from 2012. It had a basic news feed but no way to send messages. Lindell had the most followers on the site when it launched.
Helping Others
When My Pillow was new, Lindell gave money to groups like the Salvation Army. He also supported the Union Gospel Mission and other organizations.
Lindell also started his own non-profit group called the Lindell Foundation.
His Political Activities
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Lindell met Donald Trump in August 2016. After that, he became a strong supporter of Trump. He called Trump "the most amazing president this country has ever seen."
Lindell went to Trump's presidential debate in 2016. He also spoke at a Trump rally in Minneapolis. He attended Trump's inauguration. Trump even gave him a special pin as a gift.
In 2017, Lindell sat next to Trump at a business meeting at the White House. Trump praised Lindell's business skills in 2018. Lindell also spoke at a Trump rally in Rochester, Minnesota. At a conference in 2019, Lindell said Trump was "the greatest president in history."
In March 2020, Lindell said on Fox News that his factories were making face masks. This was at the request of the Trump government. Later that month, Lindell appeared with Trump at a White House press conference about COVID-19. Lindell praised Trump at this event.
Lindell thought about running for governor of Minnesota in 2022. Trump reportedly encouraged him to run. Lindell became the campaign leader for Trump's reelection in Minnesota in May 2020.
In November 2020, Lindell helped pay for the bail of Kyle Rittenhouse. Lindell later said he gave money to a group to help with election lawsuits. He said reports about paying for Rittenhouse's bail were "fake news."
In April 2022, Lindell said he gave a lot of money to a legal fund for Tina Peters. She was a candidate for Colorado Secretary of State. This amount of money might have broken Colorado state law.
Lindell rejoined Twitter in May 2022 after being banned. But Twitter quickly banned his new account for trying to get around the first ban.
In November 2022, Lindell announced he was running to be the leader of the Republican National Committee. On January 27, 2023, he lost. He received only four out of 167 votes.
Statements on Health Treatments
In 2020, Lindell promoted a substance called oleandrin as a treatment for COVID-19. This substance comes from oleander plants and can be harmful. Lindell helped arrange a meeting between Donald Trump and a person from a company that makes oleandrin. Lindell claimed it was safe, but there is no scientific proof that it helps with coronavirus.
Statements About the 2020 Election
After Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, Lindell played a big part in supporting efforts to change the election results.
Lindell helped pay for a bus tour that questioned the election results. The tour ended in Washington, D.C., in December 2020. Lindell spoke at several stops. He said he did not help pay for later trips that led to the January 6 rally. Lindell went to this rally but did not go to the U.S. Capitol building. After the Capitol was stormed, Lindell said that people who oppose Trump were responsible. He claimed they "dressed as Trump people."
On January 15, 2021, Lindell carried a document into the West Wing of the White House. A photo showed the document seemed to mention martial law and replacing the CIA director.
Lindell promoted an idea that voting machine companies, Smartmatic and Dominion, worked with other countries to rig the election. In early 2021, Dominion warned Lindell they would sue him. They said he was a "prominent leader of the ongoing misinformation campaign." After Newsmax corrected its false reports about voting machine fraud, Lindell appeared on the network. He repeated his false claims about rigged machines. The anchor tried to stop him and then walked off the set.
On January 25, 2021, Twitter permanently banned Lindell. This was because he kept saying that Trump won the 2020 election without proof. Twitter said he broke their rules against false information. After his personal account was banned, Lindell used the My Pillow Twitter account. He used it to say that Twitter's CEO should be "put in prison." Twitter then banned the My Pillow account too.
Lindell bought three hours of airtime on One America News Network. He used it to show Absolute Proof, a film that made false claims about the election. YouTube removed the film for breaking its rules. The film won awards for the worst picture and worst actor (for Lindell). In April 2021, Lindell released a second film, Absolute Interference. It also shared ideas about the election that were not proven true.
Dominion sent letters to Lindell asking him to take back his false claims. When Lindell refused, Dominion sued him for defamation on February 22, 2021. They sued both Lindell and My Pillow for $1.3 billion. Dominion said Lindell and My Pillow used "defamatory marketing" to increase My Pillow sales. In August, a judge ruled that Dominion's lawsuit could continue. In January 2022, Smartmatic also sued Lindell for defamation.
In March 2021, Lindell said he would sue Dominion back. He claimed Dominion was involved in illegal activities and election interference. On April 19, 2021, My Pillow sued Dominion for $1.6 billion. Dominion's lawyer said My Pillow's lawsuit was "meritless." In May 2022, the court dismissed all claims by Lindell and MyPillow against Dominion and Smartmatic. The court also ruled that Lindell and MyPillow would have to pay Smartmatic's legal fees.
Lindell and others predicted that Trump would become president again in 2021. Lindell predicted Trump would be back on August 13, then September 30. Neither of these predictions came true.
Lindell held a three-day "Cyber Symposium" in August. He promised to show "proof" of election fraud, but no proof was given. An expert who attended said Lindell's evidence was "a pile of nothing."
Lindell claimed some data showed China interfered in the 2020 election. He offered $5 million to anyone who could prove him wrong. A software developer named Robert Zeidman took the challenge. He found the data was not real. In April 2023, a group of judges ordered Lindell to pay Zeidman $5 million. A court confirmed this order in February 2024.
In September 2021, Bonner County, Idaho, recounted its 2020 election ballots. This was after Lindell claimed all Idaho counties were hacked. Lindell gave a list of internet addresses he said were hacked. But the county clerk said their voting machines were not connected to the internet. The recount showed the results were accurate. Idaho plans to send Lindell a bill for the cost of the recount.
In January 2022, Lindell said he had "enough evidence to put everybody in prison for life." He was talking about people involved in the supposed 2020 election fraud.
On September 13, 2022, the FBI took Lindell's phone. Lindell said agents surrounded his car at a fast-food drive-through. He said the agents asked about Tina Peters, who was charged with election interference.
In August 2023, Lindell said he would stop voting fraud by flying drones near polling places. He said the drones would check if voting machines were connected to the internet.
In October 2023, Lindell's lawyers said he owed them millions of dollars. They said they could no longer represent him. Lindell said, "We've lost everything, every dime. All of it is gone."
Lindell attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention. There, he falsely claimed that 257,000 votes were missing from the 2020 election.
His Personal Life
Lindell has been married three times. His first marriage ended after about 20 years. He has children from that marriage. He married Dallas Yocum in June 2013. He filed for divorce in July 2013 after she left him. Donald Trump announced Lindell's third marriage in April 2024.
Lindell is an evangelical Christian. He received an honorary degree from Liberty University in 2019. The dean of Liberty University's business school called Lindell "one of the greatest Christian businessmen." At the event, Lindell gave 12,000 pillows to those attending.
In March 2021, Lindell said he was no longer living in Minnesota. He said he was not going to in-person events because of safety concerns.
Images for kids
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Lindell in December 2020
See also
In Spanish: Mike Lindell para niños
