Mike Lindell’s $5M Court Win, the DFL’s Selective Outrage, and Tim Walz’s Business Blunders
On July 23, 2025, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed Mike Lindell a major legal victory and possibly a dose of political vindication.
The court ruled that Lindell is not required to pay the $5 million arbitration award to software engineer Robert Zeidman, who had won Lindell’s “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge” at the 2021 “Cyber Symposium” in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Back then, Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and outspoken election-integrity crusader, claimed he had data proving foreign interference in the 2020 election. Zeidman analyzed it, concluded it wasn’t election-related, and an arbitration panel sided with him.
But the appeals court saw it differently. The judges said the arbitration panel overstepped twisting the contest rules beyond their plain meaning. The contract was unambiguous, they said, and the panel had no business bending it. The $5M award was thrown out and the case sent back for further proceedings.
Lindell hailed the decision as more than a legal win. To him, it was proof that his critics — particularly the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party — have been out to crush him for his beliefs, and that at least in this instance, the system worked in his favor.
Years of Political Targeting
Since 2019, Lindell has been under constant political fire. The DFL and national Democrats have branded him as a dangerous source of “election lies.” He’s been hammered with:
Defamation lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.
Retail cancellations as major chains dropped MyPillow.
A $2.3 million defamation verdict for comments about former Dominion employee Eric Coomer.
For the DFL, Lindell became the poster boy for “disinformation.” But the reality is that while his election claims remain controversial and largely unproven, this $5M reversal shows he was, at least here, correct on the law.
The Walz Factor: When Standards Change by Party
While Lindell has been scrutinized to the hilt, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has faced far less blowback from his own party — even when his actions are politically calculated or economically tone-deaf.
Walz has:
Pushed aggressive Democratic redistricting tactics the same kind his party calls “gerrymandering” when Republicans do it.
Spent extensive time on the national campaign trail post–vice-presidential bid, prompting criticism from Republicans that he was neglecting Minnesota governance.
These moves haven’t drawn anything close to the moral outrage the DFL directs at Lindell proof, critics argue, that outrage in politics often depends more on team colors than principle.
The Tesla Problem: Mocking a Company That Pays Minnesotans’ Bills
Then there’s the Tesla incident. During a public event, Walz openly mocked Elon Musk and Tesla stock, quipping that he added Tesla to his stock tracker “for a little boost during the day $225 and dropping,” and joked that Tesla owners could “take dental floss and pull the Tesla thing off.”
Funny? Maybe to some. But here’s the kicker: the Minnesota State Board of Investment, which Walz chairs, owns over 1.6 million shares of Tesla in its pension fund, plus hundreds of thousands more in other accounts — over $360 million in value at the time. Those funds are tied directly to the retirement security of Minnesota teachers, firefighters, and public employees.
Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary slammed Walz’s comments as “beyond stupid,” noting that it’s reckless to mock a stock deeply tied to your constituents’ future income. Elon Musk called him a “jerk.” And when a Minnesota state employee was arrested for vandalizing Teslas just weeks later, the optics got even worse.
To business owners — especially in a fragile, post-COVID Minnesota economy Walz’s quip felt less like a joke and more like a laugh in the face of people who’ve lost money. That includes pension holders with Tesla shares… and yes, possibly Minnesotans with investments in companies like MyPillow, though those numbers aren’t public.
Discrepancies That Voters Notice
Here’s the imbalance:
Lindell: Raked over the coals for election fraud claims, hit with lawsuits, mocked in the press, and portrayed as a danger to democracy even when courts rule in his favor.
Walz: Laughs at a company that funds Minnesotans’ retirement, jokes about its falling stock price, and advocates partisan redistricting… but avoids equivalent outrage from his own party.
For voters, especially business-minded Minnesotans, the message is clear: in politics, who you are often matters more than what you do.
Why This Matters
Lindell’s appeals win isn’t the end of his legal troubles, but it’s a symbolic moment. It’s proof that even someone branded a pariah by the political establishment can win when the facts and law are on their side.
And for Tim Walz, the Tesla episode is a reminder that words matter especially when they hit the wallets of the people you govern. The fact that these two men are treated so differently by the political and media establishment speaks volumes about selective outrage in American politics.
When double standards decide who gets criticized and who gets excused, voters — and their retirement accounts — are the ones who lose.
