White House teleprompter operator earns $100 betting on Trump's speeches.
A White House teleprompter operator is accused of profiting nearly $100 from bets on the Kalshi platform using insider information about President Donald Trump's speeches. The employee allegedly bet that Trump would use specific words in public pronouncements, including the State of the Union address.
The case was reported by G1 Mundo this Wednesday (July 16). Gabriel Perez, who has held the position of teleprompter operator since 2016, allegedly exploited early access to the content of presidential speeches to gain an advantage in the so-called "mentions market," a modality in which users bet on which specific terms will be pronounced by a speaker.
Prediction market platforms, such as Kalshi, allow users to trade contracts linked to the occurrence of future events, such as elections, economic indicators, or political decisions. The prices of these contracts reflect the participants' collective assessment of the likelihood of a given event occurring.
Account frozen and authorities notified.
Upon identifying unusual activity, Kalshi froze Perez's account, blocking the withdrawal of over US$90 (approximately R$460) held on the platform. The total estimated profit from the bets reaches almost US$100, equivalent to approximately R$511 at the current exchange rate, according to G1.
The company also reported the case to the CFTC ( Commodity Futures Trading Commission ), the regulatory agency for derivatives markets in the United States. Kalshi justified the seriousness of the situation to the BBC by highlighting the weight of the words of authorities in global financial markets; "The words of political leaders such as presidents and Fed chairmen cause movements of billions of dollars in the foreign exchange, oil futures and stock markets."
White House Reaction
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to the BBC that President Trump was aware of the situation. According to her, Perez is on unpaid leave and will not return to his post.
