Trump fires his teleprompter operator for betting on president's speeches

US President Donald Trump has suspended a White House teleprompter operator after allegations emerged that he profited by betting on the content of the president's speeches.

According to ABC News, teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez allegedly earned more than $100,000 by placing bets on prediction market platform Kalshi over specific words or phrases Trump would use in public addresses.

"I'm aware of the report, the president is too, I spoke with him about it. He believes it's deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt said Perez had been placed on unpaid administrative leave and "will no longer be working at the White House."

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"That was a decision by the president. So I think that speaks for itself," she added.

Prediction platform reported Perez

Kalshi said it had flagged suspicious trading activity involving Trump's speeches and referred the matter to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

"Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC after an exchange investigation," Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said in a statement to AFP.

"We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral."

The company said more than $90,000 in alleged profits had been frozen before Perez could withdraw the funds, and that discussions over a settlement are currently underway.

Perez, who has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016, allegedly placed bets on several major speeches, including the State of the Union address in February, Trump's remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and a primetime address delivered in December.

The allegations surfaced just hours before Trump was scheduled to deliver another national address on Thursday, which the White House said would focus on protecting the integrity of US elections.

"So there will be a teleprompter operator tonight, of course -- but it will not be the one, unfortunately, in that story," Leavitt said.