A jaw-dropping West Wing development has surfaced: Donald Trump’s longtime teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, was placed on unpaid leave after reports say he profited more than $100,000 by betting on what the president would say in speeches. Read on to discover the full story!
Reports claim Perez placed wagers on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market for more than a dozen addresses — from the February State of the Union to a Davos speech and a December 2025 primetime talk — betting on whether Trump would use particular phrases or topics.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the unpaid administrative leave was the president’s decision and that Perez is cooperating with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation. A Kalshi official says their surveillance team flagged the trades and referred them to regulators.