Trump suspends teleprompter operator over betting claims

A White House teleprompter operator has been suspended amid allegations he placed bets on the content of President Donald Trump's speeches. Gabriel Perez reportedly amassed over $100,000 through a prediction market called Kalshi, wagering on specific words or phrases Trump would utter. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the situation as "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace." She confirmed that the teleprompter operator was placed on unpaid administrative leave and "will no longer be working at the White House," a decision she attributed to the president himself. Kalshi, the prediction market platform, stated it alerted its U.S. regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), after its surveillance team flagged suspicious activity related to Trump's speeches. "We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral," said Robert DeNault, Head of Enforcement at Kalshi. The platform reported that over $90,000 in profits had been frozen in Perez's account before he could withdraw them, and he is currently in settlement talks. Perez, who has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on speeches including the State of the Union address and remarks at the Davos forum. The report surfaced just hours before Trump was scheduled to deliver another address, which the White House stated would focus on election integrity. Leavitt assured that a teleprompter operator would be present for the speech, but it would not be Perez.

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I'm aware of the report, the president is too, I spoke with him about it. He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace.