Trump Backs Federal Control of Prediction Markets, Slams State Democrats as ‘Scum’

Posted on: May 26, 2026, 08:38h. 

Last updated on: May 27, 2026, 04:17h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.
  • The president has previously expressed ambivalence toward prediction markets
  • His son, Donald Trump Jr is an advisor to Kalshi and Polymarket
  • He bashed Democrat politicians as standing in the way of the prediction markets industry

In a new Truth Social post, President Trump said it is vital that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintains its regulatory purview over prediction markets, while bashing Democratic leaders who are attempting to hinder the industry.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lottery
President Trump (foreground) said it’s crucial the CFTC oversee prediction markets while calling some Democrat politicians scum. (Image: Getty)

The president also praised his CFTC nominee, Michael Selig, thanking him and adding that he is “doing a great job” leading the federal agency that oversees prediction markets.

It is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive,” said Trump the social media platform his family controls. “Under my leadership, we are setting ‘rules of the road’ that are the Gold Standard for the States.”

He didn’t elaborate on how those rules could shape up or exactly what the “gold standard” entails.

Trump Rips Into Democrats Opposing Prediction Markets

President Trump also unloaded on several Democrat politicians as well as Chris Christie. Christie, formerly the Republican governor of New Jersey and previously a Trump ally, now works with the American Gaming Association (AGA), which opposes prediction markets.

“We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules! Other Countries are after this new form of Financial Market, and we want to remain at the top,” added the president.

Walz is the Democrat governor of Minnesota, which recently became the first state to ban prediction markets, inviting a lawsuit from the CFTC in the process.

James, the New York attorney general who previously pursued questionable financial fraud charges against Trump, has been a vocal critic of prediction markets as well.

Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, last month followed some of his Democrat colleagues in prohibiting state workers from trading on yes/no exchanges.

Trump’s post is likely to invite scrutiny because a frequently used talking point in prediction market circles is that his son, Donald Jr., is an advisor to Kalshi and Polymarket and an investor in the latter.

Trump Wants US to Maintain Crypto Leadership

As the CFTC has some regulatory purview regarding cryptocurrency derivatives, Trump also mentioned the importance of the US maintain and expanding its perch as the world’s dominant digital currency hub.

“Likewise, and even more importantly, where we are currently the Crypto (Bitcoin, etc.) Capital of the World, other Countries are trying diligently to replace us in that capacity, but we won’t let that happen,” said the president in the social media post.

Cryptocurrency brokerage firms, including Coinbase Global and Gemini Space Station, are prediction markets players in the U.S.