Kalshi continued listing prediction contracts for President Trump’s Thursday address while a White House teleprompter operator remains on unpaid leave. The platform kept word-specific markets active despite allegations that the aide traded on advance knowledge of the speech text.
Market Activity and Personnel Review
The contracts tracked whether the president would use particular phrases during the broadcast. Trading on these instruments proceeded without interruption on Thursday evening. The ongoing activity follows reports that the staff member responsible for loading the teleprompter was removed from duty after allegedly placing bets on the speech content before it was publicly released.A government watchdog organization has stated that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission permits prediction platforms to function with minimal restrictions. The group compared the current regulatory environment to a "Wild West" landscape. Kalshi’s decision to keep the presidential address markets open aligns with this broader oversight approach, allowing contract trading to continue while the personnel matter is reviewed.