IBM vice chairman says stock sell-off is a response to debate, criticizes lack of detail in Harris economic plan

IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn said that a market sell-off on Wednesday was partly in response to the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Cohn made the comments while appearing on CNBC after the Dow Jones index fell by 1.6% early in the trading day.

'I know she has a plan; I don't know what's in her plan.'

"Yes, it's a factor. I think people will look at last night's debate and they will exaggerate the effect that it will have and they will exaggerate what they think a candidate can or cannot get done," said Cohn.

"I think that when you start understanding the reality of how difficult it is to change policy, you might reflect differently. But the knee-jerk reaction coming out of last night's debate, and I don't care which side you're on, whichever candidate you support," he continued.

"I think there are a lot of people who are having those reactions today," he added. "And I think that's very far from the reality of getting legislation, and getting laws passed, and ending up with a new economic environment, or a new tax environment, or a new regulatory environment, or a new tariff environment."

Cohn went on to say that there is a "very high probability" that Republicans win the U.S. Senate and that will be a check on Harris, should she win the presidency.

"She will have to get Republican votes to change tax policy. I don't think Republicans are lining up to vote for higher corporate taxes. I don't think they're lining up to vote for tax on unrealized gains. I don't think they're lining up to vote for a lot of increases in capital gains taxes," said Cohn.

"There probably are some compromises in the middle," he added, referring to his time as national economic adviser for Trump. "There were places where the Democrats would have met the Republican Party. So there's always a place for a deal to get done."

He also appeared to mock Harris for leaving out the details in her economic plans while claiming that she does indeed have a plan for Americans.

"She has a plan. I know she has a plan. OK? I know she has a plan," Cohn said. "I don't know what's in her plan."

Cohn, however, also agreed with others that the short-lived sell-off was also due to new economics data showing higher-than-expected inflation in August. The indices later recovered from their lows into positive territory Wednesday.

The interview with Cohn can be seen on CNBC's YouTube account.

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