Palantir CEO Alex Karp signals shift away from Trump in post-midterm interview

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is moving away from President Donald Trump after Republicans suffered devastating losses in the midterm elections.Karp signaled his shift to the left in a new interview with Politico at the technology company’s Manhattan office.While he has been allied with the Trump administration since last year, the chief executive says he is a lifelong Democrat and that Palantir is inherently progressive in its philosophy. “I’ve been a Democrat my whole life,” Karp said. “I grew up in a far-left environment. 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.”Palantir and its top leader have reportedly donated up to $10 million for Trump’s proposed White House state ballroom. Karp has also given $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund and an additional $1 million to pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. He maintains his political donations are bipartisan.“My giving is equal Democrat, Republican,” Karp said. “I can tell you, without going into things I’m not gonna disclose, I’m very balanced, and everyone in the political arena knows it. And I’ll tell you what, I’m also not the village idiot.”Reflecting on last week’s election results, Karp described Republican losses as a “referendum” on “economic justice,” which he believes Democrats are trying to address.“I’m really not pitching Palantir. I’m actually pitching, ‘What are you gonna do about economic justice in this country?'” he asked. “And I would say the Democrats have an advantage here because for many Republicans there’s an orthodoxy that capitalism solves all problems. Maybe that was once true. I never thought it was true. It’s definitely not true now. And so basically everyone center, center-left understands this.”The blue wave in the midterm elections has made it more likely for the Palantir executive to back a Democratic presidential candidate in 2028. Karp said he would vote for the “most competent, best leader,” which, in his view, doesn’t include a professed member of the Democratic Socialists of America.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the Democrats speculated to run for the presidency, is a known DSA member.DEMOCRATS COULD TARGET TRUMP TARIFFS AFTER MIDTERM SWEEP WITH SOME GOP AIDKarp has been open about his criticism of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also a socialist, while criticizing the Democratic Party as “totally irresponsible” on various issues. Now that Republicans are in the minority in Congress, the tech leader appears to be more optimistic about his party’s future over the next two years while Trump remains in office.After retaking the House and Senate last Tuesday, Democrats will assume the majority in both chambers in January 2027.