SouthCoast Stores Pull MyPillow Over Trump Support [OPINION]

Several national retail chains with stores on the SouthCoast have dropped MyPillow products because owner Mike Lindell supported President Donald J. Trump's challenge of the recent election results.

That's about as bright as the boycott of Goya Foods by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others last summer. The boycott backfired, according to The Daily Signal.

Newsweek reports that Lindell gave a series of media interviews last week in which he said Kohl's, Bed, Bath and Beyond, H-E-B, and Wayfair have stopped selling his products. "They're trying to cancel me out," Lindell reportedly told the Right Side Broadcasting Network's Brian Glenn.

Lindell has been a strong Trump supporter, going as far as to accuse Dominion Voting Systems of participating in voter fraud. Dominion has threatened to sue Lindell over his comments. Trump's detractors say his belief that the election was rife with fraud led to an assault on the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, with five people losing their lives as a result. Big retail wants to take that out on Lindell.

Lindell reportedly believes the retailers are being pressured by those detractors to pull the MyPillow products from their shelves.

Kohl's has stores in Dartmouth, Taunton, Hyannis, Seekonk, and elsewhere in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Bed, Bath, and Beyond has stores in Dartmouth, Raynham, Seekonk, and elsewhere in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. H-E-B and Wayfair have no stores located in the immediate area, although Wayfair does a majority of its business online.

Retailers have every right to determine who they do business with, but so do consumers. The boycott against Goya failed miserably because people don't like to be told where to shop or what to buy based on someone else's political beliefs. It will fail miserably with MyPilow for the same reasons.

Big business may not like Trump or anyone associated with him but 74 million people voted for the guy. And if sales are any indicator, they will continue to buy MyPillow products and will be more inclined to think poorly of Kohl's, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, H-E-B, and Wayfair.

By the way, Ocean State Job Lot carries MyPillow products and they cost less than at the other stores, too.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.