Pro-Trump businessman Mike Lindell faced new questions about his spending in the Minnesota governor race after reports showed his campaign used more than half of its early fundraising to buy bulk copies of his memoir, “What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO.” Lindell defended this in a televised interview, saying the purchases replaced traditional campaign literature.
Lindell, the MyPillow founder and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, has raised about $350,000 since he entered the race. He spent over $187,000 on his book, according to a newly filed year-end campaign finance report. This spending made up the largest portion of his campaign expenses in the first reporting period.
In a Sunday interview with NewsNation host Natasha Zouves, Lindell responded to questions about this spending after she asked him to explain why he bought so many books and whether it was a wise use of campaign funds, according to The Daily Beast.
“We got them for a very good price,” Lindell said. He claimed the book purchases acted as campaign materials he could distribute during a busy debate period in the primary. “Instead of paying for flyers, we have to do debates for about a month and a half. We gave out the books instead of handing them a little flyer about me,” he said.
Mike Lindell is asked to explain why he has spent over half of the $350,000 in campaign contributions he’s taken in buying copies of his own book. He says he hands them out instead of fliers and “we got them for a good price.” pic.twitter.com/u2qBPN7TCz
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 16, 2026
Lindell did not specify how many copies his campaign bought or how many voters he expects to read the 336-page memoir, according to The Daily Beast. His campaign treats the book as both a biography and a campaign message, using his personal story as a key part of his political strategy.
Local Minnesota reports highlighted the purchases earlier this month after the campaign filed its report. The Star Tribune noted Lindell raised about $352,000 in roughly two and a half weeks after announcing his candidacy and spent more than half of that on copies of his autobiography. The Minnesota Reformer also pointed out that buying the book was the main expense of the campaign during this early stage.
Campaign finance rules generally allow candidates to spend money on printed materials and promotional items. However, questions about self-dealing can come up when a campaign pays the candidate or a business owned by the candidate. The reports did not indicate that Lindell’s campaign broke any laws, nor did they mention any enforcement action related to the book purchases.
Lindell has remained a well-known political figure due to his promotion of false claims about the 2020 election and his close connections to Trump. He has faced financial and legal pressures in recent years. In the Minnesota governor race, The Daily Beast reported he has been polling behind other Republicans in the primary.
The spending issue is likely to follow Lindell as he works to expand his donor base and convince Republican primary voters that he can launch a successful statewide campaign. Minnesota has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006, and the governor’s race is expected to attract national attention as both parties focus on the state in the midterm cycle.
In the NewsNation interview, Zouves asked again whether campaign donors expected their contributions to support voter outreach instead of bulk purchases of a candidate’s memoir. Lindell insisted the books fulfilled that purpose and argued the spending was a cost-effective alternative to typical printed handouts.
