Trump Gives Mike Lindell His ‘Complete and Total’ Endorsement in Minnesota Governor’s Race

Donald Trump’s full-throated endorsement of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor has turned a routine state race into a test of how much power embattled political and corporate elites still hold over voters.

Story Snapshot

Trump gave a “complete and total” endorsement to Mike Lindell in Minnesota’s Republican governor primary, praising him as a top patriot and problem-solver.
Lindell is leading internal polls after the endorsement, but he carries heavy legal baggage from failed election fraud claims and multimillion-dollar defamation judgments.
Democrats and many media outlets frame Lindell as an election conspiracist, while some Republican insiders worry he is unelectable in a swing state.
The race shows how both parties now weaponize defamation lawsuits and “election integrity” rhetoric, deepening public distrust of political and corporate elites.

Trump’s Endorsement Pushes a Loyalist to Center Stage

President Donald Trump endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor in a Truth Social post, calling him “one of America’s greatest and most hardworking patriots” and giving his “complete and total endorsement.” Trump said Lindell “will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN” and deserves to lead the state, tying the race directly to his national “election integrity” message. Lindell, a longtime Trump ally, learned of the endorsement from his own media network and said he was thrilled and surprised.

Trump’s backing comes just weeks before the August Republican primary and turns a midwestern governor’s race into a national proxy fight over trust in elections and ruling institutions. Lindell built his public brand through MyPillow infomercials, then became a central figure in efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, aligning himself closely with Trump’s claims of fraud. For many conservative voters, Trump’s endorsement signals loyalty and a promise to fight the “deep state,” even as critics say it drags Minnesota deeper into partisan chaos.

Lindell’s Pitch: Problem-Fixing Businessman With a Turbulent Past

Mike Lindell presents himself as a pragmatic businessman who overcame addiction, built a large Minnesota-based company, and now wants to “fix problems” in state government. He tells voters he has raised significant campaign funds and believes he can beat Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar and other Democratic leaders by focusing on waste, fraud, and mismanagement in St. Paul. His official campaign site highlights an internal poll showing his support rising above 40 percent after Trump’s endorsement, far ahead of rival Republican candidates.

Lindell points to his personal story to connect with people who feel the system is stacked against ordinary workers. He says he has spent millions of dollars fighting what he calls election fraud and backs policies like hand-counting ballots, arguing that regular citizens deserve transparent results they can trust. Many conservatives see that as standing up to powerful interests, while many liberals worry it means putting conspiracy theories at the heart of state policy.

Legal Battles Over Election Claims Raise High-Stakes Questions

Lindell’s campaign runs alongside serious legal and financial trouble linked to his election claims. A Colorado jury ordered him to pay about $2.3 million after finding he defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems employee by calling him a traitor who helped steal the 2020 election. Another case from voting technology company Smartmatic found that Lindell made 51 false statements about the firm, and the company is now seeking “nine-figure” damages from Lindell and MyPillow.

Dominion Voting Systems, now renamed Liberty Vote, also filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Lindell in 2021 over his repeated claims that its machines rigged the election. That suit was later dropped after the company changed ownership, but courts and juries have already ruled that key parts of Lindell’s fraud narrative were false. Lindell continues to appeal some of the judgments and denies wrongdoing, but the ongoing cases mean he is spending large sums fighting battles that many judges and juries see as baseless.

Media, Party Leaders, and the New Role of Defamation in Politics

Major news outlets and Democratic analysts largely describe Lindell as an “election denier” and “conspiracy theorist,” shaping a public image that worries GOP strategists who focus on winning swing voters. One Democratic commentator on Minnesota television called Lindell “the Minnesota version of Donald Trump” and predicted his nomination would depress Republican turnout in the general election. Senator Amy Klobuchar framed Lindell as “Donald Trump’s choice,” suggesting he is being sent in by national forces rather than rising from Minnesota’s needs.

President Donald Trump has endorsed MyPillow founder Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor, praising him as “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots” and giving formal backing to a fellow election denier a day before the Republican presid… https://t.co/KdT3kLxlDw

— KSTP (@KSTP) July 16, 2026

At the same time, many Republican leaders in Minnesota have stayed quiet or labeled Lindell unelectable, creating an unusual gap between the party’s base and its establishment. This tension fits a wider national pattern: more politicians now back candidates facing defamation lawsuits, while companies like Dominion and Smartmatic use the courts to push back against false claims. Legal scholars call this a “defamation renaissance,” where lawsuits become a main way to police political speech in a system that many voters already see as serving elites over ordinary people.

What This Means for Frustrated Voters on Both Sides

For conservatives, Trump’s endorsement of Lindell feels like a direct challenge to media and corporate powers they believe have silenced questions about elections and punished dissenting voices. For liberals, the same move looks like proof that the GOP is doubling down on falsehoods and ignoring real policy problems such as health care, schools, and the growing gap between rich and poor. In both camps, many Americans see elites using lawsuits, spin, and party machinery to protect themselves rather than to fix broken systems.

The Minnesota governor race now sits at the crossroads of these frustrations. A businessman who pours his own money into battles over voting machines faces huge legal judgments yet still gains the backing of the most powerful figure in his party. Voters who feel blocked from the American Dream will decide whether they trust Lindell to “fix problems” or see him as another symbol of a government and political class locked in endless fights that do little to improve everyday life.