Teresa Kay Albertson

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang spoke to about 20 people, mostly college students, at Simpson College Thursday afternoon during a four-day swing through the state.

Yang breezed into the room with his red, white and blue scarf and started shaking hands.

“How much do you know about me?” he asked the students. “Almost nothing? Terrific. Let me tell you about myself.”

Yang said that, like Donald Trump, he’s a successful businessman and entrepreneur, but added that he’s really "the opposite" of the Republican president.

“The opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math. I’m ego-free," he said.

Simpson Young Democrats President Geoff Van Duesen said the Yang campaign contacted his group a few weeks ago about a visit.

“We said yes, of course,” Van Duesen said. “We want every candidate to come.”

Jonathan Herzog, Yang’s Iowa campaign coordinator, said the campaign paid $150 to rent the room on campus for the visit.

“Every candidate has to pay when they come, “Van Duesen said. “The amount just depends on how big of a room they want.”

Despite his call to create a monthly federal payment to all Americans over the age of 18 paid by a new “value added” tax on technology, Yang said he’s not a socialist and he’s not exactly a capitalist.

“I’ve coined a new phrase to describe myself and I thought I’d try it on all of you tonight. I support people, not capital. So I’m calling for 'human-centered capitalism.'”

Yang said he jumped into the presidential race after Trump’s election.

Yang said he believes Trump was elected because he won support in states where automation has eliminated jobs.

“This is why Iowans don’t want to hear from Democrats,” Yang said. “If things go south, people don’t want to hear from Democrats, they want to hear from conservatives.”

“It’s the elephant in the room, this massive unemployment coming due to automation,” Yang said. “And young people should be very mad or very sad. We have shafted you. And I’m here to un-shaft you.”

After Trump's election, Yang was also reading about the concept of a Universal Base Income that would pay Americans monthly.

“I call my plan for a Universal Base Income the 'Freedom Dividend,'” Yang said. “It would create a 15 percent growth in our economy.”

Indianola resident Peg Mikulanec said her friends at work were going to love his ideas.

“It’s going to help them get their kids through college,” Mikulanec said.

Yang said Iowa could catapult his bid for the White House.

“I only need about 30,000 or 40,000 people in Iowa to caucus for me,” Yang said. “That would put me in the top three finishers. Then I go to New Hampshire, where I went to high school, and I’ll win there. Then comes California, which is fifth in line with a primary. Guess where all the Asians live? I’m the first Asian man to run for president. There’s a lot of love there.”

Yang, who has already spent significant time in Iowa, is planning to return to Iowa February 20-21 and again March 11-13.