Gabriel Perez, who has worked for the president since 2016, is under fire for his prediction market wagers, allegedly using his access to the speeches to make his bets. At times, Perez reportedly backed out of bets mid-speech when Trump skipped over portions of addresses that he’d bet would be mentioned. Kalshi, the platform used, detected unusual betting on Trump and, upon examination, found that it was coming from a federal employee. Using non-public information to manipulate markets is prohibited by Kalshi and could also result in criminal prosecution. Perez’s profits have been frozen, and he is on unpaid leave from his role at the White House.

More For You

US President Donald Trump speaks about election security during an address to the nation from the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, July 16, 2026
SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS

The US president used a primetime address last night to argue America’s election system is broken and vulnerable to “rigging.” He pointed to documents he says show Chinese interference in the 2020 vote. But the evidence Trump offered, along with past assessments from the intelligence community, doesn’t support his broadest claims.