Kalshi flags Trump speech trades as teleprompter operator faces federal probe
Gabriel Perez, who has operated President Donald Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, was placed on unpaid leave after reports he used advance access to speech scripts to profit from Kalshi “Mentions” contracts.
Two independent, credible news outlets (CNBC and ABC News) corroborate the core claim: Kalshi's surveillance/internal exchange investigation flagged suspicious trades on its 'Mentions' market tied to Trump's statements and referred them to the CFTC, with the teleprompter operator (Gabriel Perez) now under federal probe. CNBC explicitly states Kalshi's head of enforcement confirmed the CFTC referrals and that the bets were tied to statements made by Trump, matching the claim precisely. ABC News independently confirms Kalshi reported the trades to the CFTC. Both are dated July 16, 2026, matching the event time.
Gabriel Perez, who has operated President Donald Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, was placed on unpaid leave after reports he used advance access to presidential speech scripts to trade on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, where users bet on whether specific words or phrases will be said in public remarks. ABC reported Perez made more than $100,000 on major speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year. Kalshi said its surveillance team flagged the trades and referred them to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while the White House said Trump was aware of the matter and called it “unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”
- Mentions market: A prediction market where contracts are tied to whether specific words or phrases appear in a public speech or statement.
- prediction market: A trading venue where participants buy and sell contracts based on the outcome of future events.
- CFTC: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulator that oversees derivatives and certain prediction-market activity.