Whitehouse teleprompter operator bet on Trump speeches
A longtime Whitehouse teleprompter operator allegedly won more than $100,000 betting on President Trump's speeches on Kalshi, according to sources and the prediction market. Federal regulators are investigating, the White House put him on unpaid leave, and settlement talks are underway.
Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant who has run Trump's teleprompter since 2016, is accused of using advance knowledge of prepared remarks to trade Kalshi's "Mentions" contracts—bets on whether specific words, phrases, or topics would be spoken in public appearances.
The case lands at the intersection of prediction markets and government ethics, a theme we track across Future Tech & AI Wonders as real-money platforms grow around political events.
Key Takeaways
- Sources say Perez won more than $100,000 betting on Trump speeches on Kalshi; CNBC reported profits above $90,000 with most funds later frozen.
- Kalshi's surveillance team flagged unusual "Mentions" market activity and referred the trades to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- Investigators linked bets to more than a dozen speeches over about three months, including the State of the Union, a Davos address, and a Medal of Honor ceremony.
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump called the conduct a "disgrace" and placed Perez on unpaid administrative leave.
- Perez is discussing a CFTC settlement that could require returning profits and avoiding similar trades.
What did Kalshi and regulators find?
According to ABC News, citing sources familiar with the matter, Kalshi alerted the CFTC after spotting suspicious activity on its Mentions market. That market lets users wager on whether certain words or topics appear in a scheduled speech.
Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said the firm's surveillance team "promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation," CNBC reported. Kalshi froze the account after flagging the bets, limiting how much profit could be withdrawn.
Beyond February's State of the Union, sources told ABC News that CFTC investigators found bets tied to a December primetime address, January remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and March comments at a Medal of Honor ceremony.
Why does teleprompter access matter here?
Perez's role gave him early sight of speech text before delivery—the kind of nonpublic edge Mentions markets can price in seconds. Investigators believe that access helped him predict Trump's wording more accurately than ordinary traders.
Later in March, the White House issued an internal memo warning staff not to use nonpublic information to place prediction-market bets, sources previously confirmed to ABC News. The timing underscores how quickly White House ethics guidance followed scrutiny of these trades.
What happens next for the Whitehouse staffer?
Leavitt told reporters Perez is on unpaid leave and was not handling the teleprompter for Trump's subsequent address. A White House spokesperson has said the staffer is cooperating with the CFTC and that ethics rules apply to all officials.
Regulators have signaled willingness to settle, with terms discussed that would claw back profits and bar similar trading. The episode is a high-profile test of whether prediction-market surveillance can catch alleged insider edges around the Whitehouse—and whether civil settlement, not just platform freezes, becomes the new norm.