Man in a black suit adjusting a transparent teleprompter panel at a podium with the Presidential Seal, with American flags in the background.
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Trump’s Teleprompter Operator Made More Than $100,000 Betting on Which Words Trump Would Say in His Speeches

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Gabriel Perez has run Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, which means he’s usually the last person to see the prepared remarks before they’re delivered, and he’s known to take last-minute edits from Trump himself.

Federal investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission believe he used that access to bet on more than a dozen speeches over three months, including February’s State of the Union, a January address at Davos, and a March Medal of Honor ceremony, sources told ABC News.

A technician adjusts a teleprompter on stage before a presidential speech at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
Gabriel Perez sets up the teleprompter ahead of President Trump’s National Security Strategy address at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., on December 18, 2017. Photo by Joshua Roberts / Reuters.
A man checking a teleprompter at the Palm Beach County Convention Center before Trump's 2024 election night speech
A teleprompter operator named Gabriel Perez preps equipment ahead of Donald Trump’s election night speech at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 6, 2024. Photo by Carlos Barria / Reuters.

The bets ran on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, where users wager on whether specific words or phrases come up in a public speech. Investigators found instances where Perez backed out of a bet mid-speech when Trump skipped a word he’d wagered would be said.

Kalshi’s surveillance team flagged the trades and referred them to the CFTC. Prosecutors in Manhattan declined to open a criminal case, and regulators are now discussing a settlement that would have Perez return his profits and stop making similar trades.

Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada with a teleprompter visible in front of him
A teleprompter frames Donald Trump as he addresses supporters at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on October 11, 2024. Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images.

He’s still operating the teleprompter. It’s the same job he held during the January 6 fallout, when congressional and federal investigators scrutinized the edits made before Trump’s remarks that day.

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About the author

Nadia Santiago

Nadia Santiago is a writer who lives between the clouds and the coastline, and writes about all the things your heart knows but your mouth can never quite say.