‘This is going to destroy those people,’ Alex Karp says of DOGE opponents.
As many Democrats challenge Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a major tech leader and frequent donor to Democrats has raised questions about their opposition—the latest in a line of criticisms from the tech world directed at a political party with which it once was comfortably aligned.
Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp aired his concerns with a party he often supports in an interview broadcast on Feb. 17 on CNBC’s Squawk Box program.
Karp co-founded the software firm Palantir Technologies, a top defense contractor, with Peter Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s most outspoken conservative libertarians.
“I’ve been a Democrat most of my life,” Karp said before adding, “I don’t like watching the Democrats just commit suicide.”
He took issue with progressive leftists’ general opposition to DOGE, saying most Americans support its identification of fraud, waste, and abuse in federal spending.
“I just view this as yet another example of the progressive left boxing themselves into a suicide dance,” he continued, questioning whether this group was seeking to communicate with Musk in good faith.
“Why is it that we do not know where every penny of our money goes? How do you explain that to people?” he asked, adding that DOGE’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful means of bringing transparency to government spending.
“It feels like the people criticizing Elon don’t want it to happen. And this is going to destroy those people,” Karp said.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a frequent participant in protests against DOGE, told The Epoch Times that engagement between progressive Democrats and Musk is difficult because “it’s hard to engage with an oligarch who’s trying to tear apart our democracy.”
“There’s just a host of conflicts of interest that ought to deeply trouble progressives,” Blumenthal said of Musk’s effort, citing possible access to data of Musk’s business competitors.
Yet, Blumenthal said, he would be glad to speak with Karp, “or anyone else.”
