Trump’s teleprompter operator suspended over bets on president’s speeches
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- A longtime teleprompter operator for U.S. President Donald Trump has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.
- The employee is accused of using advance knowledge of speeches to make over $100,000 through prediction market bets.
- The White House confirmed the action, calling the matter "deeply unfortunate" and a "disgrace."
The White House has placed a longtime teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump on unpaid administrative leave amid allegations of insider trading. The employee, identified by ABC News as Gabriel Perez, reportedly used advance knowledge of Trump's speeches to place bets on prediction markets, accumulating over $100,000.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the employee's status, stating he "will no longer be here" and that the leave is pending his departure. The allegations involve wagers placed on whether Trump would use specific words, phrases, or discuss certain topics in over a dozen speeches, including the State of the Union address and remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The employee will no longer be here and has been placed on unpaid administrative leave pending his departure.
Kalshi, the prediction market platform where the alleged bets were made, confirmed it flagged suspicious trading activity linked to Trump's speeches and referred the matter to federal regulators. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reportedly involved, though no enforcement action has been publicly announced. President Trump has been informed of the allegations, which the White House described as "deeply unfortunate" and "a disgrace."
The Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades to the CFTC.
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Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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