White House Teleprompter Operator Suspended for Betting on Presidential Speeches
The White House has confirmed that a teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump is on unpaid leave. Reports suggest that the operator used insider knowledge of the president’s speeches to place bets on the prediction market, Kalshi. This information was disclosed by the White House on Thursday.
The chief compliance officer at Kalshi stated that the company contacted federal regulators regarding the alleged bets placed on the content of the president’s public speeches.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged the situation, describing it as “unfortunate” and “embarrassing.” She emphasized the strict ethical guidelines in place at the White House related to such matters, confirming the operator’s leave status. ABC News reported that Gabriel Perez, a teleprompter operator for Trump since 2016, used inside information to earn over $100,000 betting on key speeches, including this year’s State of the Union address.
Robert Denault, an attorney for Kalshi, emphasized in a public statement that their surveillance team promptly detected, investigated, and forwarded these transactions to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The statement made no direct mention of Perez. According to the ABC report, several sources familiar with the situation provided information under anonymity.
The ABC report highlighted suspicious activity in Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, which allows users to bet on specific phrases and words used in public speeches. Kalshi has recently required users to disclose their employment details, prohibiting bets based on information sourced through their work.
Recent reports indicate that members of the administration, including Trump, are financially gaining from the presidency. Trump’s latest financial disclosures revealed $1.2 billion earnings from cryptocurrency ventures, with investors facing losses in markets he aimed to shield from federal oversight. Trump reportedly gained over $500 million through World Liberty Financial from new cryptocurrency products, as per his mandatory annual disclosure to the Office of Government Ethics. Additional disclosures showed over $600 million in earnings from CIC Digital LLC through “meme” coins featuring his image. Both the governance tokens and the coins have significantly dropped in value since being sold.
Moreover, Trump has profited from merchandise and political event contracts at his properties, significantly increasing his net worth since his return to power. Trump’s advisors defend his personal and family business practices. Leavitt earlier stated that Trump complies with all presidential conflict of interest laws, dismissing any claims of profiteering from the presidency as “absurd.”