Trump's teleprompter operator suspended over betting scandal

A US government employee tasked with operating Donald Trump's teleprompter has been suspended amid allegations of earning over $100,000 by betting on the content of the former president's speeches. The White House confirmed the suspension, with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating that Trump found the situation "deeply regrettable and, frankly, a disgrace."

According to ABC News, the employee, who had been handling Trump's teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on specific words, phrases, and topics through the prediction platform Kalshi. These bets reportedly included predictions on Trump's address at the World Economic Forum in Davos and his State of the Union address.

Kalshi informed the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about suspicious activities related to Trump's speeches that caught experts' attention. Over $90,000 of the alleged winnings were frozen in the employee's account before they could be withdrawn. Leavitt emphasized that the US government has strict ethics policies prohibiting such dealings.

This case follows a similar incident in April, where the US Justice Department accused a soldier of earning over $400,000 on the Polymarket platform using non-public information about plans to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

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extremely regrettable and, frankly, a disgrace