Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, has enjoyed the loyal support of the MAGA world and conservative circles for the past two years as he pushed for the 2020 election result to be overturned.
But in recent days, conservative pundits have begun to pivot over a new conspiracy theory that involves controlling Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2022 victory in Florida.
In particular, right-wing backlash against Lindell began to mount after he announced his plans to check DeSantis’ victory in Miami-Dade County.
“I don’t believe it,” Lindell said Tuesday night on his Frank Speech website of DeSantis’ triumph by more than ten points. “So it’s going to show everyone — just like we always tell you about Democrats where they stole their elections … I’m going to find out if Dade County — what happened there.”
Lindell TV co-host Brannon Howse added, “Because that was historical, Republicans don’t normally win that county.”
Like all of Lindell’s previous claims of voter fraud, his latest, centered around a top Trump 2024 competitor, lacks any merit. Since then, Lindell has started to feel the heat from his base.
“Everything to the wording of this makes me think that Mike Lindell is a very patriotic but extremely vulnerable man who is being used without realizing it to discredit real election integrity efforts, which is bad and sad if correct,” conservative expert and intellectual dark web thinker James Lindsay wrote.
“Lolol”, right-wing YouTuber Tim Pool added.
“Lindell has to go,” former Newsmax TV host John Cardillo responded. “He’s being interviewed by a guy he’s funding, on his own network, spouting crazy conspiracy theories. DeSantis did well in FL because he did a great job for FL. Lindell’s BS is pathetic, and he should stop listening to scammers using him for $$.
An editor of the conservative blog RedState took it a step further and mocked Lindell, write“I mean, DeSantis’ victory margins are just as insane as THIS AMAZING NEW DEAL ON MYPILLOW IF YOU GO TO MYPILLOW DOT COM AND…”
Late Wednesday night, Lindell doubled down on the “deviations” as he vowed to continue his Florida audit despite the right-wing pushback. “I don’t care,” he said, before saying his research could take more than two weeks to complete with “voting records cast.”
“I examine the machines,” he shouted at one point, “they don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican.”
Neither the pillow tycoon nor Howse responded to The Daily Beast’s request for comment on Wednesday afternoon. Likewise, DeSantis’ campaign did not immediately return The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
While Lindell hasn’t gone out of his way to attack DeSantis in the past, he’s now quickly put himself in such a category.
Similar to Trump’s own approach, informal Trump adviser Roger Stone has long attacked DeSantis — and on Wednesday berated the governor for his lack of loyalty to the former president.
“Ron DeSantis only became governor because of Donald Trump. He was an unknown congressman, Stone said on Real America’s Voice before stating that if DeSantis hadn’t gotten the former president’s endorsement, “he would be working at a Dairy Queen right now.”
While Trump has battled DeSantis, at least one adviser has warned of power struggles among the Republican Party.
“No attacks,” a veteran Trump adviser previously told The Daily Beast. “Same team.”
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