Trump’s Teleprompter Operator Made $100,000 Betting on a President Who Ignores the Script

A White House teleprompter operator allegedly made over $100,000 on Kalshi, ABC News reported on July 16. He bet on what President Donald Trump would say before the words left the podium.

Gabriel Perez has run Trump’s teleprompter since 2016. He is now in settlement talks with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

How the Trump Speech Bets Worked

Kalshi runs Mentions markets. Traders bet on whether a word or topic will come up in a public speech.

Perez had the script in his hands. Investigators say he bet on more than a dozen Trump speeches in three months, including February’s State of the Union.

His edge had one weakness. Trump often abandons his script, and Perez allegedly exited bets mid-speech when scripted words never came.

“You know, when you go up here, you take a big chance, especially me because I go off teleprompter about 80% of the time,” Trump said in January remarks to the Detroit Economic Club.

Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens

Investigators believe Perez bet on that speech, too. Kalshi’s surveillance team caught the pattern and told its regulator.

“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators,” Kalshi enforcement chief Bobby DeNault said in a statement.

Kalshi Insider Trading Rules Face a Hard Test

Kalshi launched three market integrity measures just weeks ago, including risk scoring and employment checks. Its own report says screening tools blocked over 100 potential insider trades in Q1 2026. The same quarter brought 150+ investigations and 20+ law enforcement referrals.

The platform had already adopted an employer disclosure rule after White House scrutiny. The White House warned staff in March against betting on inside information. However, Perez still runs Trump’s teleprompter today.

Manhattan prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges. Instead, the CFTC may settle. Perez would return his profits and stop similar trades.

He is not the first. The DOJ says a US Army soldier turned $33,000 into roughly $410,000 on Polymarket using classified Maduro intel.

Even Wall Street is wary. Goldman Sachs recently limited employee prediction bets on Kalshi and Polymarket. The bigger question remains. Can employment checks beat a trader who reads the script before the market does?