MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who was subjected to scrutiny after praising President Trump and recommending prayer at a White House press briefing Monday, told the Washington Examiner that God used him as “a vessel” to deliver a message of hope.
“God was just giving me things to write down and to give hope to people,” Lindell said.
Lindell ignited controversy when he delivered remarks praising President Trump for his leadership and for giving people “hope” since his election in 2016 by presiding over a country with “the best economy, the lowest unemployment, and wages going up.” Lindell also said that people should read the Bible during coronavirus lockdowns and that he is confident that God will guide the country through the pandemic.
Lindell’s comments came after prepared remarks in which he outlined how his company was converting 75% of manufacturing capabilities to make more than 50,000 protective masks to aid medical workers treating people infected with the coronavirus.
In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Lindell said that he did not expect his extemporaneous remarks to attract the attention that they did, and that, before the briefing began, he did not even know he would be asked to speak at the podium. When he learned that Trump wanted him to explain MyPillow’s work, however, he said that he began composing some notes on the back page of his prepared remarks.
“I just wrote some notes on the back of my sheet because I wanted this to be a time to give people hope,” Lindell said. “I had just heard some great things inside the White House from the president. I wanted to get the message for God out there.”
But, when it came time for Lindell to speak, he said he was unable to read his notes, so he decided to speak from the heart.
“Those words, God just let them out,” Lindell said. “He used me as a vessel to get that message out there.”
The backlash to his comments, Lindell said, pointing to the many journalists who criticized him on Twitter, was the work of the devil.
“The devil doesn’t like it when people put out words for Jesus,” Lindell said, adding that America “has been in a spiritual warfare ever since Donald Trump ran in 2016.”
The criticism only reinforced Lindell’s belief in Trump’s leadership, he said.
“I really do believe that this is a time of great revival,” Lindell said. “I stand by that statement at that podium.”
For Lindell, he said faith in God guides his entire life. The entrepreneur credits God with helping him work through a divorce, healing him of a crack cocaine addiction in 2009, and for inspiring him to build MyPillow, which Lindell founded in 2004, into a multimillion-dollar business.
Lindell said he was more deeply received into Christianity in 2017 at a ceremony run by the Evangelical group Operation Restored Warrior, which ministers mainly to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I just did a whole-hearted surrender to Jesus,” he said of the experience.
Lindell, 58, has been a staunch supporter of Trump since the 2016 election, when the then-candidate praised him for manufacturing pillows in the United States. Lindell has often praised Trump in return, particularly because he said he believes that the president is promoting Christianity through his administration.
Trump in February appointed Lindell chairman of the president’s 2020 campaign in Minnesota and has reportedly nudged Lindell to run for governor of the state in 2022.
Monday’s press briefing left a mark on Lindell, and he said that, through the coronavirus pandemic, he will continue to support Trump’s leadership and contribute to aiding however he can.
“I’m going to keep putting it out there and keep preaching for Jesus Christ as our savior,” Lindell said. “I’m going to back this president because he’s the best president.”
