White House Teleprompter Operator Suspended Over Betting Allegations

Was this a disgraceful betrayal of public trust or a symptom of the Trump family's prediction market conflicts?
White House Teleprompter Operator Suspended Over Betting Allegations
Above: White House teleprompter operators, including Gabriel Perez (R), at the Washington Hilton on June 26. Image credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Spin


Pro-establishment narrative

A White House teleprompter operator abused his privileged access to Trump's speeches to profit on prediction markets, a disgraceful betrayal of public trust. Gabriel Perez, who earned $175,000 a year as a deputy assistant to the president, allegedly exploited insider knowledge to bet on "mention markets" even after the White House warned staff in March that doing so could be criminal. He's now rightfully on unpaid leave and facing a CFTC investigation.

Establishment-critical narrative

The real scandal here is that the Trump family is deeply entangled in the prediction market industry, which it refuses to regulate. Donald Trump Jr. serves as a paid advisor to Kalshi and an unpaid advisor to Polymarket while spearheading Truth Predict, all as Trump complains the world has become "a casino" but does nothing to rein it in. In that environment, who can blame Perez for playing the odds?


Go Deeper

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1