United States of America

Trump Teleprompter Operator Fined $172.5K for Speech Betting

Is the CFTC's punishment of Gabriel Perez true accountability or government hypocrisy given Trump's own prediction market ties?

Published AUG 30

Trump Teleprompter Operator Fined $172.5K for Speech Betting

Story

Above: Gabriel Perez cleans a teleprompter at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 5, 2024. Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images

The Facts

Federal regulators on Friday ordered former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez to pay over $172,000 after finding he used advance access to President Donald Trump's speeches to place bets on a prediction market platform.
Breitbart
BBC News
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Perez must surrender $107,539.02 in trading profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. Regulators said the penalty was reduced because of his "exemplary cooperation" with the investigation.
Fox Business
CNBC
In addition to the financial penalties, Perez was banned from trading for three years and ordered to cease and desist from further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The White House had previously warned staff against participating in prediction markets.
Breitbart
The New York Times
Perez traded presidential "mention market" contracts on Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026, wagering on specific words or phrases — such as country names and economic terms — that Trump might use in his speeches.
The New York Times
The Hill
Kalshi's surveillance systems flagged the unusual trades, which also drew complaints via the platform's whistleblower channels. The company identified the trader as a federal employee and referred the matter to regulators.
Fox Business
BBC News
Perez, who had served as Trump's teleprompter operator since 2016 and earned a $175,000 annual salary, reportedly placed bets on more than a dozen speeches over three months, including the State of the Union address.
Breitbart
The Hill

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Perez got caught using insider access to Trump's speeches to rake in over $107,500 betting on prediction markets — and now he's paying for it. The nearly $173,000 in penalties and a three-year trading ban highlight accountability when someone abuses a position of public trust for personal profit.

FOX News on X

The Epoch Times on X

Narrative B

The Perez penalty looks a lot less principled when Trump himself holds a major stake in a service that sells early access to his Truth Social posts. Condemning an aide for profiting off advance knowledge of presidential words while personally benefiting from a similar setup is a tough position to defend.

Mario Nawfal on X