“40% of all money today was printed in the last 18 months” - Breedlove

Robert Breedlove has said this on a few podcasts. I shared with a friend who was skeptical. He dug in and found that this stat comes from the fed website. Per my skeptical friend this is misleading.

He says that “printed” does not mean “created.” He says that printed more accurately means converting non physical cash into physical cash.

Further, some economists say this is a sign of a strengthening economy bc banks are responding to patrons desire for more cash to spend.

This last part seems highly debatable and dubious. But I’d love some feedback on what Breedlove was actually saying. Does “printed” mean “created” or only converted?

Appreciate some thoughts.