Conversation so far:
What was the budget about for Gerald Ford?
The federal budget ran a deficit every year Gerald Ford was President.
what was the deficit of Gerald Ford?
A federal deficit of around $53 billion for the 1975 fiscal year and $73.7 billion for 1976.
what did Gerald Ford do about the deficit?

Question: how did ford react to the criticism?
Self-contained rewrite: how did Gerald Ford react to the criticism of the deficit?