Trump's teleprompter operator on leave over alleged Kalshi bets

The teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump has been placed on unpaid leave following reports that he used inside information to place bets on the president's speeches via the online prediction market Kalshi. The White House described the situation as "unfortunate" and "a disgrace."

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The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this.

Gabriel Perez, who has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016, allegedly won more than $100,000 by betting on specific phrases and words Trump would use in major addresses, including the State of the Union earlier this year. Kalshi's enforcement chief, Robert Denault, confirmed that the platform's surveillance team flagged and investigated these trades, referring them to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees such markets.

"We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral," Denault stated on X. The ABC News report, which brought the issue to light, cited multiple anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter. Suspicious activity was reportedly observed on Kalshi's "Mentions" market, where users can bet on speech content.

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The Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Kalshi has since implemented stricter policies, now requiring users to disclose their employment and prohibiting bets based on job-related information. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, emphasized the administration's "extremely strict ethical guidelines" regarding such issues. President Trump is reportedly aware of the situation and considers the operator's actions a "disgrace."

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We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral.