President Trump endorsed MyPillow founder and MAGA ally Mike Lindell for Minnesota governor one month before a three-way Republican primary.
In a Wednesday Truth Social post, the president called Mr. Lindell “one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots.”
“Early Primary Voting has begun and, if given the chance, Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment,” Mr. Trump said. “He can do it! Nobody has sacrificed more than Mike Lindell in fighting for our country, especially when it comes to Election Integrity. He truly deserves everything he gets — He will MAKE MINNESOTA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Mr. Lindell, who built his national profile through TV advertising and “The MyPillow Guy” moniker, transitioned into the political spotlight as a vocal supporter of Mr. Trump, echoing the president’s claim of 2020 election fraud.
The entrepreneur decided to give politics a try in December when he announced his gubernatorial candidacy.
He told The Minnesota Star Tribune that Mr. Trump’s public support will give him the boost to triumph over his Aug. 11 primary opponents: Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls, a retired healthcare executive who secured the state GOP endorsement in May.
Mr. Qualls downplayed the presidential endorsement’s importance, saying “the race won’t be won by national endorsements … it will be decided by Minnesota Republicans.”
Mr. Qualls added in a statement, “Republican delegates did the hard work and got it right at the statewide convention in Duluth. I’m trusting them and their fellow Republicans that are closest to the issues of Minnesota. They know that I’m the one candidate that can beat a 20-year sitting U.S. Senator, not Lisa Demuth or Mike Lindell.”
Ms. Demuth did not directly address Mr. Trump’s endorsement, instead saying she’s “running to unite all corners of the party and deliver a victory in November up and down the ballot, and to save Minnesota from the radical and extreme Democrat agenda.”
Mr. Lindell, who said he did not know the endorsement was coming Wednesday, said, “My mind is just rolling because I’m so excited.”
If he wins the primary, he would likely face off against longtime Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat. He would be in for a long-shot bid; the state’s last Republican governor was elected in 2006.
Ms. Klobuchar put the endorsement bluntly: “Mike Lindell is Donald Trump’s choice. I hope to be Minnesota’s.”
Outgoing Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ 2024 vice presidential nominee, has taken special ire from Mr. Trump, who called him one of the “worst and most incompetent governors in the history of the U.S.A.”
The president also wrote on social media, “Amy Klobuchar, the lightly respected Senator from Minnesota, is running for Governor to take the place of the current Corrupt and Incompetent Tim Walz. I have gotten to know Klobuchar over the years, and find her to be equally as incompetent as Walz.”
