President Donald Trump has dismissed his longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, after federal investigators discovered he was using advance access to the President's speeches to place bets on a prediction market. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the operator's termination during a press briefing, stating that Trump viewed the situation as "painfully unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace."
Perez, who had managed Trump's teleprompter scripts since the 2016 presidential campaign, allegedly exploited his early access to speech drafts to place wagers on Kalshi's 'Mentions' market. This platform allows users to bet on whether specific words, phrases, or topics will be included in major public addresses. Suspicious trading activity flagged by Kalshi prompted an investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Investigators reportedly found that Perez had bet on over a dozen presidential events, including a December primetime address, an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, and a Medal of Honor ceremony in March. Through these wagers, Perez is alleged to have profited more than $100,000. He is reportedly negotiating a settlement with federal regulators.
During the press briefing, Leavitt initially stated that Perez had been placed on paid administrative leave but quickly corrected herself, clarifying that the leave was unpaid and that "this individual will no longer be here."
When asked if other administration officials were suspected of similar betting activities, Leavitt responded, "Not to my knowledge, not that I've been made aware of." She characterized the incident as the action of a "rogue actor" bypassing established protocols, rather than a systemic failure of White House security or ethics. Leavitt emphasized that strict ethical guidelines are in place and that Perez chose to ignore them.
Leavitt noted that the system for detecting such behavior functioned as intended, with Kalshi reporting the suspicious activity to the CFTC. Following the investigation and identification of Perez, he was removed from his position. A new teleprompter operator will be in place for future events, including an upcoming election integrity speech.