i encounter cannot even believe that this is happening and that it has gotten to this point. i think we are in the middle of this deep inquiry with people i have talked to and we have a lot of months left before november. and i pray like many americans that we will find our way. and i think we will. host: do you think you will end up at the nominating convention? guest: so far i have not been treated like a welcome guest which i do not understand. as i said, i think a robust primary would have been good for the party and good for president biden. as if he was the eventual nominee. shaming someone for primarying a president is not the way. republicans have to get back the

soul of their party, democrats need to get back the soul of theirs. host: if you>> washington" cont. -- "washington journal" continues. >> we welcome jason palmer. you are described as the guy who beat joe biden in american samoa, back on super tuesday. what should viewers know about you? guest: viewers should know i'm in the race because i believe in ideas. if you go to my websites you will see we are talking about conscious capitalism, modernizing government. i am a technology entrepreneur and investor by background and we really need to pass the torch to the next generation of people who are entrepreneurs and move

our country into the 21st century. host: what is conscious capitalism? guest: i have been working in a movement for the last 20 years and it is people who create businesses for good and invest in businesses for basically socially improving purposes. think of a company like i've invested in called origin that educates people in prisons. and another that is creating digital certificates, sales force administrator, certifications, amazon web services. there are 600 credentials you can earn in less than a year where you can get upscaled to the middle class, like the new color jobs of our century. you don't even have to go to college. you can get yourself into the middle class and beyond with the

certificates and credentials. host: we probably hers heard from you in the super tuesday. when did you start to decide to run? guest: very late. all of my friends who have been involved in politics and it is way too late and you headed to start two years ago. but at that point i felt like there was nobody talking about the ideas. we are getting mired in foreign conflicts. the republican party had a scream fest on the debates. and i said to my ceos, if somebody like me got into the race would it be positive and they said yes and we talked to investors and other people and got unanimous support that i should get into the race and talk about ideas and try to move the country towards an ideas-based election. host: why we are so popular with

the samoa? guest: it was mostly because i did basic campaigning. i think the other candidates did not campaign. i did multiple zoom town meetings and hired people locally. i also think not enough people take american samoa seriously. i care about them. host: how do you keep them from being the high watermark of your run? guest: i introduce my new organization called "together! " and some democrats and some republicans that bring the country back to the center. we need to come back together. that is been my biggest message

so far. take our government back from the crazies. host: in congress? guest: we will mostly focus in congress. this is something i did in 2018 as a private citizen who invested in women who were running for congress. later the bloomberg team picked it up and amplified it. 16 of the 20 got elected. and in 2019 it was a freshman class of women elected. this time we want to elect people who are purple candidates who want to work across the aisle, people who come from an entrepreneurial tech background like myself. in the next week or two we are getting close to announcing which five people we will nominate as the first five and then all the way to 20. if all goes well we will have 16 of those 20 elected to congress

or have helped done that. goes to my background as an investor and picker of people who are little-known, like myself. host: you live in baltimore, maryland? guest: i do. host: why not run there and why set your sights on president? guest: i have a favorite candidate. my state has a senate race and also my congressman decided to design and there is a new congress race going on. i like the candidates for mayor, senate and congress in maryland and will support all three of them. it was a timing thing. there is not a focus on congressional races back when i decided to get into the race. and if you run for one of the 435 congress seats, people don't notice your message. host: you like your local and state officials do you not like joe biden? guest: i do like him but we

agree on 90% of things but a couple key things we differ. the federal government is running a massive deficit for years. we need to get the federal deficit into balance, which i have a plan to do over five years. i am a quaker by background and have been speaking out on gaza since october since last year that we need to have a cease fire and work towards a two state solution. the yet -- netanyahu government has been a terrible partner for the u.s. for many years. the gaza policy has been changing. i noticed the fighting administration changing it. i know marianne williamson was on yesterday and i agree with her on a lot of things and i have met her on the campaign trail and admire her position on gaza. host: jason palmer with us, taking your phone calls. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001.

independents, it's (202) 748-8002. you talked about your tech investment career. take us through your career and how you got to that. guest: i went to the university of virginia, like you. i was a government professor. i thought i would go into government my whole life. my fourth year i started a business called "the corner meal plan." a way for students to eat at restaurants around the campus. i have been a computer science diet since the beginning. that led to starting a company in silicon valley and starting a company and graduating from business school. so those two companies and failed with one. i have worked for bill gates twice. i have multiple technologies and patents and invested in 30

companies. host: what did you do for bill gates? guest: i was at the bill and melinda gates foundation and worked on higher education. as you know, higher education is too expensive and that is why we have been finding these alternative pathways where you can learn for six or 12 months and get a credential and go straight to the middle class. host: for you one of the kids that wanted to grow up and be president? guest: yes, i was. i have on my website a book report i did on abraham lincoln, george washington. i am here to say to all the kids who watch for the parents needs to want to be president that you can get involved. you can't run for office. not everyone wants to run for president that people can find different ways to run for your small town. but if you want to get big ideas

out there, the president is the way to run. host: does it take a lot of self funding? guest: it has. we need to move to a system of public funding so this is not something just relatively rich people can do. rachel maddow compared me to michael bloomberg. i laughed. i am much less well off than that. we have invested 500,000 dollars in our campaign and taken $50,000 in donations. this is run on a shoestring. you are supposed to have a billion dollars to run for president. that is crazy. host: what is the path forward? what happens at the democratic national committee? guest: we are negotiating the details but my goal is to give the people of the american samoa voice on stage to share more about their culture and issues they care about.

there are many territories that don't get enough attention. puerto rico is one of them. they are overdue for statehood, guam, virgin islands. many areas don't get enough air time and people don't know that we have these colonies that are now territories all over the world. host: how many times have you been to american samoa? guest: i have never been there. that is probably one of the biggest surprises. i did for zoom town halls and spoke to a class of the school children, hired three people on the ground who did a fantastic job. i basically took the people there seriously and i think we should take all people seriously from disadvantaged backgrounds. host: again, (202) 748-8000 for

democrats to call in. (202) 748-8001 for republicans. independent, it is (202) 748-8002. jason palmer is our guest. this is jordan, california, independent. caller: good morning. i haven't gotten a chance to look at your campaign website. i did want to just right off the bat ask if you are in favor of an immediate cease-fire in gaza and hope shipments of any weapons, bombs, plans to israel. guest: that is an easy question. i have been in favor of an immediate cease-fire permanent cease-fire in gaza since november of last year. the netanyahu government is corrupt. we can no longer be providing

arms to them. part of that comes of my quaker background. i'm always looking for the most peaceful solution with the least loss of life. this is a core important position for me. host: what are your views on the war in ukraine? guest: that is a little different. the parallels between when vladimir putin invaded ukraine to hitler's invaded czechoslovakia and poland are all too similar. putin has written a long document posted online about how he wants to restore a greater russia. i watched the interview with him and tucker carlson. it is clear he wants to establish greater russia and bring ukraine, belarus, the former republics into a greater russia. he is an expansionist dictator and it is super important that we impose him and continue to

oppose him -- we impose him and continue to -- we oppose him and continue to oppose him. there has been so much difficulty in congress getting something passed. we need to communicate to volodymyr zelenskyy and his team that they need to sue for peace. ukraine may end up looking a little different the southeastern parts of the country are predominantly russian speaking and predominantly have voted for different presidents in elections. if we want to minimize the loss of life in ukraine, we need to help behind the scenes convey to the ukrainians that this money is the last money in and there is a need to get a. host: this is aaron, democrat, alexandria, virginia. caller: i would like to start off with the good stuff first.

i like a lot of what you are talking about. i want to say or give you a question first. what public office have you held before and in what capacity. what i would also like to let you know, i hear a lot of things that you're sing and like. ideas and look where you stand on a lot of topics. but if donald trump becomes the nominee for the republican party, this may be a timing issue but i don't think it is the right time for us as democrats or independents to split the vote because we cannot allow him back in the white house. that is where i stand. guest: i appreciate all of that. i agree with you that donald trump is a cancer on our democracy and stopping him is

job number one. if i go back to when i entered the race in november, part of the reason why was it because i looked and biden had no competitors there was really not going to be anybody who was going to get him on the campaign trail. you probably heard that ezra klein was recommended that biden pass the torch and many people along the way of saying biden needs to get out there in campaign more vigorously. that is part of why iran was to make sure he campaigned more vigorously. back to the question you asked, public office. i worked for senator daniel patrick moynihan of new york for a summer. not a whole lot of experience working in congress but it was very instrumental for me. i served on the board of the smithsonian and the university of virginia for 12 years at the bill and melinda gates foundation we worked on public policy with the administration

on financial aid, innovation in higher education. many meetings at the white house. you can think of me as washington and adjacent. some say i should be campaigning strictly as an outsider but i am not completely an outsider. i understand how government works and a third of my friends have worked in government at one time or another. i know what it is like tryingmo, mosesthing what people don't nes a bunch of capitalists running. we rejected mitt romney already. guest: i am not a venture capitalist but it is a fair comment. i am an impact investor. that is someone who invests in companies that are trying to do good for the world and trying to use the profit motive to do good. the prophet -- the company i mentioned that educates people in jail.

we have certificate and credential programs. mitt romney is a very different person than me. he is a billionaire. i actually do want to say that i admire mitt romney as well. it is important to have people in washington work across the aisle and he is one of the few people who voted to impeach donald trump from the republican side of the aisle. he has spoken out numerous times about the insurrection on january 6. if i ever get a chance to meet mitt romney i will tell him, good job. that doesn't mean i necessarily supported him in the election of 2012 but i recognize when someone puts america pursed and mitt romney puts america first. host: you are not a billionaire? guest: i am not a billionaire. host: are you a millionaire? guest: i am. host: what would you tell people who ask about your finances? guest: my net worth is between 1

million and $10 million. a lot of it is invested in start up companies or in venture capital funds. and i am a general part it -- partner in investing in companies that do good. part of what makes america great is you can become a millionaire in so many different ways. there are small businesses creating 70% of jobs and create the most millionaires. sometimes the small businesses grow into really big companies like bloomberg's or the companies that mitt romney works with. some of these companies do really good things for america. i wish more democrats were honest about that capitalism is the best system but does need a few tweaks to make it equitable. host: jason palmer, democratic presidential candidate. moses is in lakewood, florida, independent. caller: thank you for taking my

call. i have a question for jason palmer. considering the issue that we have on the border, the crisis on the border, and the democrats saying the bipartisan bill hasn't been pushed. can you tell me exactly why we fronted a part part -- bipartisan bill that secures our border. can you tell me specifically the difference between hr to? -- hr2. guest: i published a 10 page white paper on how i would reform immigration. the main difference between the bills are cosmetic and that either of those bills should be

passed right now. i agree with the biden administration's goal to get some bill passed. but it's really were also around how we treat people who come to the united states from abroad because they are fearing for their lives or fearing persecution. the biden administration has a more open vision and the bill is supposed to more societies -- asylum-seekers. it has not been updated since the 1980's for that part and there are four major reforms and they are outlined in the 10 page paper which i spent a month on because it is such an important thing to debate and i care about the ideas. host: back to baltimore, milton, democrat. caller: i first have to, and

then a question. i think you come straight out of a comic book because if you consider yourself to be a person of quicker persuasion, what would you do to stop netanyahu to do what he wants to do? he has an elected official. we have no right to tell him what to do. we have a political affiliation party who is all for what he does and it would be just one branch of the government trying to stop them from doing what they are going to do. guest: i don't know if you heard the previous caller, but i have been advocating for a cease-fire in gaza since october or november, a permanent cease-fire. the united states can do a lot here. we provide $5 billion in military aid to israel even during good times and that has gone up since then.

we could halt all military aides so our bomb and weapons are not being used to kill and displays millions of gazans. that will have an influence on the netanyahu administration. we can also support the people rallying in the streets against that government. netanyahu only has 30% support in israel and i agree with chuck schumer when he stood up and said netanyahu has to go. the united states should not often get involved in recommending a change in administration around the world this is a one world since israel is an important ally of the united states we need to stand up and say different leaders are needed both in israel and in palestine. host: new jersey, pamela, independent. caller: good morning, mr. palmer. my concern is about section 230. do you think there needs to do anything to change their? there are a lot of americans'

data being used for the benefits of not just tech companies but a lot of big companies across the world. their data is being leveraged. you can get anything about anyone and extend out to their families. do you think anything needs to change their? guest: another example where laws have not been updated and in this case 30 years, all of our laws should be revisited on a five or 10 year basis. i have been recommending this on the campaign trail. every time a law is passed we should set impact metrics and we should check back. this was intended to alleviate poverty, how has it done? section 230, people's data should belong to themselves. this is a position shared by 80% of americans and companies should have to go through more

hoops to get you to share your data and actually agree and understand how your data is being used. section 230 hasn't been updated in years. i would convene a bipartisan panel with a number of experts to come together and propose an upgrade to that law. i don't have one waiting -- waiting in the wings, but it is overdue for upgrading. we need a department of innovation and technology at the same level of the department of education, agriculture, commerce. it is amazing we are in the 21st century and we don't have this department so that things like section 230 can be regularly updated in terms of interpretation or with mark zuckerberg and others testifying by internet -- about internet and children safety. we could update the regulations on a regular basis if we had an executive branch department whose job was to focus on these

things and do that. host: impact metrics, what are one or two laws you think would do very well in those metrics from the past 10 or 20 years and what are one or two you think that it was a failure? guest: that is a great question i have never had before. i would've focus on poverty. i am a fan of these were on poverty that we implemented in the 1960's and have been upgrading since but we haven't been asked about whether it has worked or not. our food stamps actually working? there are research projects that are brought up my academic ranges of various colleges and universities but is it generating the return on investment we need? right now we have 40 antipoverty programs that are larger than $20 million a year. which ones are working better and let's invest more in those working well's pull down those

that are not working. we need to bring a business part metrics technology to government. host: one on twitter wants to know when are you going to debate joe biden? guest: i have offered but he is the presumptive nominee. it is different to balance. i want to be in favor of the democratic nominee but i do fold out the 1% chance that joe biden may pass the torch to the next generation. that is still talked about but it is 99% likely that i am all -- going to be all about encouraging joe biden and helping him win. i feel like we are on a point where i can talk about where i differ, the 10% of places where i differ but 90% of the time i agree with joe biden. host: republican caller, iv in fairfax, california.

caller: i would like to know what this candidate thinks about rubber haitians for black people. i feel like the walls of the company were built with slave labor and that is obvious to most people. and he seems to have well thought out programs, but what about the black people in california and the majority of people living in tents and going to shelters seem to be black. and of course the white poor people need help also. i wonder if he has a well thought out program where we can give $30,000 to each black person for the slave labor that went on for 400 years. guest: i appreciate that question. if you go to my website you will

see that i have a whole section on liberation. i do believe united states should have an convene a panel of experts on slavery like the truth and reconciliation commission used in south africa after mandela got out of prison to walk through and reexplain to the american people about how slavery was a key part of our founding. i am a fan of the 1619 projects and other books. and i have said publicly many times before that there needs to be a conversation happening for all of these people worried about critical race theory in the schools. we were founded on slavery. it is the original sin of american democracy.

and just giving african-americans $30,000 is not enough. there needs to be a major program, 25 years in length and lots of things to help them build more businesses in their communities, help them go to college and other credential programs. it needs to be a moment of national healing and reconciliation. host: you mentioned your quicker background. two presidents in the history of quakers. guest: i know richard nixon was a quaker. i'm curious about the other. host: according to history, herbert hoover was a quaker. do you have a favorite president? guest: abraham lincoln is pretty hard to beat so i would have to go with abraham lincoln. i look back and a lot of presidents who served two terms like dwight eisenhower was a republican who i admire when i look back and understand the history of