White House Teleprompter Won $100,000 Trading on Trump Speeches

Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant managing the teleprompter for U.S. President Donald Trump, generated approximately $100,000 in profits by leveraging advance knowledge of presidential addresses.

The aide executed trades on the prediction exchange Kalshi, wagering on specific vocabulary, including economic terminology and foreign nations, slated for inclusion in official remarks.

Surveillance mechanisms at the trading platform detected the anomalous market activity in March.

Kalshi subsequently froze the associated capital and escalated the matter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the principal federal regulator for derivatives and prediction markets.

Perez is currently negotiating a settlement with federal authorities regarding the exploitation of insider information and has been cooperative throughout the inquiry.

Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, confirmed the platform's regulatory intervention.

“We have charged this individual and have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral,” he noted in an emailed statement.

A representative for the CFTC declined to provide details on the matter, stating the agency could not “confirm or deny an investigation.”

White House Dismissal

During a Thursday press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated the president viewed the conduct as a “disgrace.”

“This individual will no longer be here,” Leavitt told reporters. “That was a decision by the president.”

When questioned about broader illicit market participation among the administration, Leavitt stated there were no additional suspects.

“There are very strict ethical requirements by all staffers and officials here at the White House,” she added.

The incident underscores escalating regulatory scrutiny over prediction exchanges such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

These platforms process billions of dollars in wagers on geopolitical events, athletic competitions, and political races, raising structural concerns about market manipulation.

Escalating Market Integrity Concerns

The White House previously issued internal guidance in March prohibiting staff from utilizing non-public data for market speculation.

That directive preceded federal charges against an Army Special Forces soldier who allegedly exploited classified intelligence to wager on the apprehension of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro via Polymarket.

Further integrity breaches include three political candidates attempting to trade on their own electoral outcomes in April, as well as a June federal inquiry into whether former Representative George Santos bet on his physical attendance at the State of the Union address.

Trump is scheduled to deliver a prime-time address on Thursday, focusing on election security and voting infrastructure.

Kalshi participants are currently placing wagers on whether phrases such as “Save America Act,” “fraud,” and “Iran” will be mentioned more than 3 times during the broadcast.