About Gary Cohn
Gary Cohn, vice chairman of IBM and former director of the National Economic Council, has made several media appearances discussing the economy, Federal Reserve policy, and artificial intelligence. Commenting on the potential impact of an Iran deal on oil prices, Cohn said prices are "not going to fall like a rock overnight" and that it depends on how quickly the Strait of Hormuz reopens, though he added that a "change in psychology" could eventually lead to lower prices. He noted that rising oil prices "will have an impact on the consumption power of America" and described the economy as K-shaped, with asset owners seeing their holdings appreciate while a "large predominance of our country" faces rising input costs that outpace wage growth.
Regarding the Federal Reserve, Cohn said incoming Chair Kevin Warsh understands inflation is at three-year highs and faces political pressure to lower interest rates, but predicted Warsh will "remove himself from the political pressure" and base policy on economic data. Cohn expressed confidence in Warsh's experience from the 2008 financial crisis. On artificial intelligence, Cohn stated he is "in the camp that this time is the same," comparing AI to past technological advancements that were expected to eliminate jobs but instead led to GDP growth
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Gary Cohn's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Stuart Varney0:00
Last night, President Trump and the First Lady were sitting down to dinner with China's leader and his wife. The President walked outside and announced the Tomahawk missile launch. He'd only told China's leader a couple of minutes beforehand. Is that setting off some kind of tension between America and China, an incident of some sort, do you think?
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Gary Cohn0:21
No, I do not think so at all. I was there at the dinner. I was present when the President had the discussion with President Xi. It was a very good conversation. I think the President explained his position very well. President Xi understood what was going on. I think the President has made it clear what the United States will tolerate and what the United States won't tolerate.
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Stuart Varney0:42
The 98,000 new jobs created last month, is that a sign of weakness? Does that encourage the President to press even harder for tax cuts and deregulation? And do you think we can keep to that timetable—tax cuts by the August recess?
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Gary Cohn0:58
The President is pushing extremely hard on tax cuts and everything we can do to generate economic growth in the United States. The President completely understands how much of a stimulant deregulation and tax cuts will be for the US economy. He understands that and he's pushing us all very hard to get that done as soon as we possibly can.
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Stuart Varney1:22
Will we meet that timetable, sir? Will we meet the timetable—so we need what, two of four, before August, get a tax reform bill out there before the August recess?
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Gary Cohn1:37
We will meet a timetable. You know, the most important thing is that we get tax reform done, and we get it done this year. We're working as hard as we can to get tax reform done. It's a number one priority of mine. The President asks me about it every day. You ask me about it more than every day. The President asks me about it every time he sees me—how we are doing on tax reform. It is his number one domestic priority right now.
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Stuart Varney2:01
Forgive me for asking, but what do you say to the President when he asks you every time you see him, what about those tax cuts? What do you say?
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Gary Cohn2:06
Well, I tell him exactly what's going on. I'm very transparent with him. I tell him where the discussions are, who we're meeting with, what the issues are, what the opportunities are, what the decisions are that we're making, and he's actively involved in all the decisions.
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Stuart Varney2:23
It's a tougher job than running Goldman Sachs, isn't it? A couple of days ago you made a comment about breaking up the big banks. I know there's a lot of technicalities involved, but do you want to go to some new form of Glass-Steagall?
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Gary Cohn2:44
Let's clarify exactly what happened. I was in a bipartisan Senate Banking Committee. One of the members of the committee read me part of President Trump's campaign speech. They talked about a modern 21st century Glass-Steagall, and I commented that I was in agreement with the President that a modern 21st century Glass-Steagall made sense to me. Remember, part of getting the US economy growing again is getting banks lending to small and medium-sized businesses. When we have this one-size-fits-all bank regulation and it's got to encompass everything, I think it's very hard to regulate banks appropriately. So if we can figure out how to compartmentalize some of the bank regulation, I think we can stimulate the economy. So my answer was a response to the question from one of the Senators in the room.
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Stuart Varney3:33
Every single word you say makes headlines, Gary. Thank you very much. You're saying a lot this morning on Varney & Company. Much obliged, sir. We appreciate it. Thank you.
