Trump makes himself the swamp’s toll collector

Published August 1, 2026 5:45am ET



President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, is out of a job after he reportedly made six figures betting on the contents of Trump’s speeches, which, of course, Perez could read before almost anyone else.

When the news broke, Trump put Perez on unpaid leave immediately, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called his behavior a “disgrace.”

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