Mike Lindell, known for building MyPillow into a nationwide brand, fully invested his credibility and fortune in supporting former President Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Now, amid mounting debt, he faces financial ruin and rising legal jeopardy—all fueled, in part, by the amplification his voices received on Elon Musk’s X/Twitter platform.

Lindell testified in Denver in June 2025, reaffirming his baseless election fraud allegations. He maintains he acted out of sincere belief, not malice, to eliminate electronic voting machines. Yet his legal battles tell a different story. Domin­ion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit and similar suits from Smartmatic and Eric Coomer threaten his assets. Coomer claims Lindell’s false accusations destroyed his life and career (theguardian.com).

Financial disclosures paint a grim picture. Lindell admits to owing millions in legal fees, losing hundreds of millions as retailers dropped MyPillow products, and borrowing from predatory payday lenders at 409 percent interest (businessinsider.com). His lawyers even withdrew from representation due to nonpayment (theguardian.com).

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter (rebranded X) provided Lindell a renewed megaphone. Musk reinstated his suspended account, restoring Lindell’s platform to spread conspiracy theories (businessinsider.com). Critics argue Musk’s hands-off moderation exacerbated disinformation and magnified Lindell’s downfall.

Yet amid his fall, Lindell remains defiant. He characterizes himself as a martyr fighting “cancel culture” and insists he will continue advocacy for paper ballots (apnews.com). There is something tragic in his story—an entrepreneur caught in a whirlpool of ambition and belief, backed by powerful platforms, only to see everything he built evaporate.

Lindell’s journey serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of wagering an empire on unverified allegations — and about the powerful role social media plays in both elevating and wrecking such figures

APA Citations

The Guardian. (2025, June 4). MyPillow’s Mike Lindell faces trial and plans to testify about 2020 election lies. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/04/mike-lindell-testify-2020-election-trial

Weill, K. (2024, November 21). Mike Lindell says ‘Satan’ rigged voting machines in 2020. The Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/mike-lindell-says-satan-rigged-voting-machines-in-2020

Loudenback, T. (2024, December 18). ‘Cash-strapped’ MyPillow took $1.6 million loan from payday lender at 409% interest, says Mike Lindell. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/cash-strapped-mypillow-mike-lindell-payday-loan-interest-usury-2024-12

Matt Johnson from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons