Perhaps that was when the deficit was 2-3% GDP.

The deficits have been increasing rapidly since 2016, with this crazy increase today.

The deficit is far less likely to be a problem at about 500bn/year than it is at 1T to 3T per year.

I don't know when he said it, but it is far more likely that deficits like those in 2014-2016 would not have been a problem, while deficits of the last three years are.