Alex Karp says he's a lifelong Democrat — and Palantir's products are 'essentially progressive'

Palantir CEO Alex Karp said that he's been a Democrat his whole life. Finn Gomez/Getty Images After the "blunami," Alex Karp is talking up his ties to the Democrats.The Palantir CEO once described wokeness as a "thin pagan religion" and called Democrats irresponsible and childish. Meanwhile, he praised President Donald Trump as a model for entrepreneurs.In a Wednesday interview with Politico — Business Insider's sister company — Karp reaffirmed his left-leaning politics."I've been a Democrat my whole life," Karp told Politico. "I know more about being a progressive than almost anybody on the planet, and I absolutely believe Palantir — all of our products are essentially progressive."Karp has long called himself an "unhappy Democrat," criticizing both what he calls the "Mamdani wing" and the "woke right."Karp continued to criticize the Democratic Socialists of America in the interview. He said that they "gaslight Jews and segregate Blacks."The declaration may surprise onlookers who know Palantir for its immigration enforcement platform, the so-called "ImmigrationOS." The company has long been criticized for its business with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Palantir's work with ICE has sparked protests and sowed internal division.In the Politico interview, Karp said that Trump mishandled his immigration crackdown. "I was really happy to hear the president be honest that — you know, his words, I believe, were something like, 'Yeah, we kinda went too far,'" he said. The Palantir CEO tied it back to economic justice — and the future of capitalism.Democrats aren't beholden to the belief that capitalism will solve all problems, Karp said. "Maybe that was once true. I never thought it was true. It's definitely not true now." Read next Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Henry Chandonnet is a senior reporter on the Business News desk. He writes about tech culture, from Silicon Valley's startup class to the everyday AI user. He also closely covers Big Tech and the workplace. Henry previously wrote for Fast Company, where he covered trending tech news. He's written for The Daily Beast, People Magazine, and Vulture.Email Henry at hchandonnet@insider.com, reach him on Signal at henrychand.30, or follow him on X @HenryChandonnet. Democrats