Trump Criticized for Bringing Out MyPillow CEO at White House Press Conference

A sermon and a pledge to make facemasks had people talking on Twitter.

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Image via Getty/MANDEL NGAN

Mike Lindell speaks during a press conference at the Rose Garden.

On Monday, "My Pillow" hit the top of the Twitter trending column due to a cameo that the CEO of the company (which apparently stylizes itself as MyPillow) made at the daily White House coronavirus press conference. At the Rose Garden-set presser that CEO, Mike Lindell, reportedly went off script and told people to find God and read the Bible while quarantined. File that in your head for later.

Lindell had been invited to speak at the briefing in order to make an announcement that his company had joined an effort to help make facemasks for the many people in desperate need of those right now. He said his company will make 50,000 of them per day at a converted pillow factory by the end of this week. He also "launched into a short infomercial about his company," according to Politico

Following those remarks (which you should also file in your head for later) Lindell asked the president if he could give "off the cuff" comments, to which he was apparently talking about delivering a religious sermon. 

“God gave us grace on Nov. 8, 2016 to change the course we were on,” Lindell said, in reference to the night Trump won the election. “God had been taken out of our schools and lives, a nation had turned its back on God.

“I encourage you to use this time at home to get back in the word, read our Bibles and spend time with our families." The New York Post reports that he then touted the economy and the unemployment numbers from Trump's time in office. 

“With our great president, vice president, the administration and all the great people in this country praying daily, we will get through this and get back to a place that’s stronger and safer than ever,” is how he chose to wrap things up.

This string of events got him trending nationally under three different subjects, including: "My Pillow," "#mypillowguy," and "Mr. Pillow," respectively. The main themes seem to be people who think that the pillow guy's presence at the event in the midst of a pandemic is absurd enough to mock, plus then add in the preaching. Others made the observation that it's very odd to treat with contempt somebody who announced they are making much needed masks to help with the pandemic. And yet others (me) just don't tweet or write anything on the internet unless they're paid to do it: 

I gotta tell you, I've watched every Roland Emmerich disaster movie there is. And no matter how over the top, no matter how insane, no matter how ridiculous, even the guy who gave us Independence Day: Resurgence wouldn't have the My Pillow CEO briefing America on on the invasion.

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) March 30, 2020

Let me get this straight-
People are ripping on companies like My Pillow for- checks notes- stepping up to help w critical supplies during a crisis.

You really are a bunch of ungrateful d*cks.

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) March 30, 2020

The My Pillow Guy is sending 10,000 masks per day to doctors & nurses in the frontlines in the battle against the coronavirus and says he hopes to ramp that up to 50,000 masks per day. You send tweets. https://t.co/nurakwhFuL

— Jerry Dunleavy 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) March 30, 2020

Trump just aired an infomercial... A fuckin infomercial... Navy Hospital ships are in New York harbor... Cooler trucks have been converted into morgues... and this bitch is giving airtime to the My Pillow guy... Are you serious America? #TrumpPressConference

— Cyrus McQueen (@CyrusMMcQueen) March 30, 2020

Why the fuck is the My Pillow guy at the briefing

— Angry Staffer 🌻 (@Angry_Staffer) March 30, 2020

Mike Lindell, founder of the My Pillow company (full disclosure: I have 2) used his company to make masks for doctors & nurses and pundits etc are shitting on him.

What a world.

— Mike Glenn (@mrglenn) March 30, 2020

Brooks Brothers and My Pillow/Mike Lindell are starting to make medical masks.

Your reaction to both should be the same: gratitude.

— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) March 31, 2020

He had the My Pillow dumbass on to sell his pillows during a pandemic. Bottomless. Absolutely bottomless.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) March 30, 2020

So Trump calls My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell to offer his expert thoughts and prayers on the coronavirus pandemic because rather than ventilators or coronavirus test kits or good health insurance what America needs right now is guaranteed the most comfortable pillow you’ll ever own! pic.twitter.com/kLcoYZRKT3

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) March 30, 2020

View this video on YouTube

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There's like 50,000 more of those.

At the same press conference, Trump also made a joke about his hair and incorrectly said that Seoul, South Korea has a population of 38 million. 

Moments before he got the population of Seoul completely and utterly wrong, he grandly declared: "I know South Korea better than anyone." #idiocracy https://t.co/eQpY887lnk
Trump just said Seoul has a population of 38 million people.

There are only 9 million people in Seoul, and just 51 million in all of South Korea.
Trump just said Seoul has "38 million people" in it. That's such an oddly wrong and yet specific number, I did a google search for Seoul. pic.twitter.com/iuK0g6iBSo

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