Kalshi: Trump’s Teleprompter Operator Earns $100,000 Betting on Speeches

Suspected insider trading at the heart of the White House

The situation is quite startling. Gabriel Perez, who has served as Donald Trump's teleprompter operator since 2016, is suspected of earning over $100,000 by betting on the American president's speeches via the prediction market platform Kalshi.

According to sources familiar with the investigation led by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Perez placed his wagers on Kalshi's "Mentions" market. This feature allows users to speculate on the inclusion of specific words, phrases, or topics in public remarks.

🚨 IT'S OFFICIAL: President Trump has placed his speech teleprompter operator on LEAVE WITHOUT PAY while they're being investigated for making allegedly $90K on Kalshi by betting on Trump's speeches

"I spoke with him about it. He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a… pic.twitter.com/vDqqoB3Bqs

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His position provided a clear advantage. Perez is known as one of the last individuals to review the president's speeches, including last-minute changes made by Trump himself. His annual salary as an assistant to the president is $175,000.

Over a dozen speeches involved

The CFTC investigation identified bets placed on at least a dozen speeches over a three-month period. These include the State of the Union in February, a primetime address in December, the Davos World Economic Forum appearance in January, and Trump's remarks during a Medal of Honor ceremony in March.

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In a telling detail, investigators noted that Perez would sometimes withdraw his bets mid-speech when Trump deviated from the prepared text. The president himself acknowledges improvising about 80% of the time.

Kalshi’s surveillance team was the one to detect the suspicious activity and alert the CFTC.

Our surveillance team quickly flagged and reported these transactions to the CFTC, and we are cooperating fully with regulators.

Suspension and negotiations with regulators

The White House has placed Gabriel Perez on administrative leave without pay. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the situation "deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace," noting that Donald Trump had personally made the decision to suspend him.

Perez is currently in talks with the CFTC to resolve the matter. Proposed terms reportedly include the disgorgement of his gains and an agreement to refrain from such betting in the future. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan, notified by the CFTC, have declined to open a criminal investigation.

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This case is part of a broader trend. The U.S. Department of Justice recently launched its first insider trading prosecutions involving prediction markets, targeting a special forces soldier who bet on the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, as well as a Google employee accused of betting on user search trends using internal data.

Kalshi faces the insider trading challenge

For Kalshi, recently valued at around $40 billion, these cases pose a significant compliance challenge. The platform updated its policies last month to require users to disclose their employers.

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The White House had previously issued an internal memo last March, warning staff against using non-public information to gamble on prediction markets. The warning clearly went unheeded. Additionally, it is worth noting that Trump Media, the president's media company, announced last October that it is exploring the launch of its own prediction market offering.

Sources: ABC News, The Guardian