Trump’s $13 million Reflecting Pool renovation sparks CNN panel clash

The multimillion-dollar price tag attached to President Donald Trump’s renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had panelists on CNN’s “Table of Five” disagreeing Saturday on whether the project was a justified investment in the nation’s capital or a sign of misplaced priorities.

Host Abby Phillips questioned the $13 million cost incurred so far by repairs to the Reflecting Pool, as well as other renovations in D.C., including the overhaul of the East Wing of the White House and the resurfacing of the statues surrounding the Lincoln Memorial.

“Does the president have monopoly money at this point? We just went through DOGE, you know, they fired a bunch of federal employees who claimed every penny mattered, and now nothing matters?”

New York Post columnist Lydia Moynihan debunked that claim, citing the value of making Washington safer and more beautiful and comparing Trump’s aesthetic remodeling of the pool to former President Barack Obama’s $35 million reconstruction effort.

“These are pennies when you consider that Democrats are proposing to spend trillions of dollars. [on]” he said.

“There are things we do every day, finding scams, Trump Rx… There are all kinds of good policies like that that he has in place, and we don’t talk about those things on this show.”

WATCH: TRUMP REVEALS NEW COLOR WITH DISPLAY FOR NATIONAL MALL’S RENOVATION THAT REFLECTS THE POOL

Workers continue to apply blue protective coating to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington on May 30, 2026. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

At this point, an argument broke out in the panel, with guests talking to each other. Journalist Touré says Trump’s federal government I couldn’t afford child carethe high cost of gas and the rising cost of war with Iran.

“Why would we do these things when we are at war and our economy is collapsing?” he asked.

“If you can’t see that one is a trillion and the other is literally 13 million… So we should just let it all go to hell?” Moynihan responded. “So we shouldn’t fix our roads because it costs a lot of money?”

CNN LIBERAL PANELIST SAYS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SPENT ON DEFENSE SHOULD GO TO HEALTH INSURANCE INSTEAD

Touré responded by saying that this was “of course not the other side of this dilemma” before Phillips regained control of the table, noting that it comes down to priorities and that the American people are asking themselves who and what Trump is prioritizing.

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“At the end of the day, it’s the 250th anniversary of the United States. It’s a good thing that we’re prioritizing making D.C. safe, healthy and attractive,” said former Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer.

“Unfortunately, there’s a hole where the East Wing used to be, isn’t there?” replied journalist John Avlon.