White House employee reportedly bet on Trump speech content

A White House employee responsible for operating Donald Trump's teleprompter is facing scrutiny and has been placed on unpaid leave amid allegations of profiting from bets placed on the content of presidential speeches. The employee reportedly used prediction platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket to wager on whether specific words or phrases would be included in Trump's addresses.

According to reports citing sources familiar with investigations by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the employee allegedly made over $100,000 by leveraging advance knowledge of speech texts. These bets were reportedly placed on Trump's State of the Union address in February and other presidential appearances. Platforms like Kalshi allow users to trade contracts based on the likelihood of certain events occurring, including specific language being used in speeches.

Trump's spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed the employee's unpaid leave and stated that the President had been informed. Leavitt described the situation as "deeply regrettable and frankly a disgrace," emphasizing that the White House has strict ethics guidelines prohibiting such activities. Kalshi's management also noted that the trades had come to their attention, and they had alerted the CFTC.

This incident is not unprecedented. In April, a soldier was accused by the U.S. Department of Justice of earning over $400,000 on Polymarket using non-public information about plans to arrest Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration and its associates have faced repeated accusations of insider trading, although concrete evidence is often lacking. Trump himself continues to engage in significant stock market activities, and speculation has arisen about his family potentially leveraging insider knowledge, though this remains unproven.

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deeply regrettable and frankly a disgrace