Trump teleprompter operator suspended over betting allegations: White House

WASHINGTON - A teleprompter operator for Donald Trump has been suspended over allegations he placed bets with a prediction market on the content of the president’s speeches, the White House said on July 16.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the teleprompter operator was put on unpaid administrative leave on the orders of the president and “will no longer be working at the White House.”

Trump “believes it’s deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace,” Leavitt said of the technician’s alleged actions.

“There are very strict ethical guidelines here at the White House that explicitly state not to do this,” she said.

According to ABC News, Gabriel Perez allegedly made more than US$100,000 (S$130,000) with bets placed on the prediction market Kalshi about specific words or phrases that would appear in the president’s speeches.

Kalshi alerted the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to what was seen as suspicious activity and Perez, who has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, is currently in settlement talks with the market regulator, ABC News said. AFP