- Mike Lindell made an appearance on Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the inside of a claw machine.
- Even Kimmel was confused why Lindell agreed to sit inside the machine.
- Kimmel used the time to grill Lindell about his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
Even Jimmy Kimmel can’t explain why MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell agreed to be interviewed from inside a giant claw machine.
Lindell appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday night seated in a big claw machine, surrounded by colorful stuffed animals. The pillow CEO previously said he’d agreed to the seating arrangement because of Kimmel’s on-set vaccine requirements.
“You tricked me, you did it to be funny, huh?” Lindell told Kimmel on the show.
“No, I didn’t want you in there because you weren’t vaccinated. I don’t know — to be honest, I don’t even remember why I decided you should be in there. It seemed like a good idea when it happened,” Kimmel said.
“I have to say I was very surprised when you said you would do it. But you know, I put it out there, and you said yes, so I’m honoring that commitment that I made on the air,” Kimmel added.
Kimmel used some of the episode to grill Lindell, who has consistently pushed baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, about his beliefs.
“You know, one of the differences between you and the claw machine is claw machines let go. And you will not let go with this voting thing, will you?” Kimmel asked.
In response, Lindell said he loves the USA and wants to help “save our country” by getting “rid of the computers” used in elections.
Kimmel also questioned the pillow CEO on his failed quest for role of RNC chair. On Friday, Lindell got only four votes, a stinging defeat in a race he previously claimed he stood a good chance in. Ronna McDaniel clinched her fourth term as chair, with 111 votes.
Lindell rejected Kimmel’s suggestion that his “barometer when it comes to voting is off.”
“What it seems, Jimmy, is that the RNC didn’t — their representatives didn’t listen to the people of our country that wanted a change in the RNC leadership,” Lindell said.
Lindell also gave Kimmel an updated total of how much he has spent pushing Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, saying he has spent more than $40 million on the cause. This sum includes his spending on Lindell TV, his streaming platform.
The total sum is up from the $25 million estimate Lindell gave Insider in December 2021. The new figure amounts to four-fifths of Lindell’s estimated $50 million net worth.
Lindell and representatives for Kimmel did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.