Conservative pundit Scott Jennings got fired up during a live CNN panel discussing a judge's decision to force construction to immediately stop on President Donald Trump's long-imagined ballroom.
Jennings was reacting to a decision from U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon, who blocked Trump from further construction of his White House ballroom project. In a three-page order on Tuesday, Leon granted a preliminary injunction requested by the National Trust for Historic Preservation of the United States to pause construction on the building without congressional authorization.
"Are you guys really that mad about the ballroom?" Jennings asked the group of analysts. "I mean, honestly, there's a giant hole in the ground. Now, what are we going to do? Just leave it there? When you get the government involved in building stuff, ask the people in California what happens when the government gets involved in building stuff. You don't build anything. There's a big hole. I agree..."
Anchor Abby Phillip interrupted Jennings and suggested Trump's move to knock down the White House's historic East Wing might have had repercussions.
"This is like saying 'we burned down the house. So what are we going to do? Yeah, I guess we have to rebuild it,'" Phillip said.
But Jennings didn't agree, pushing his point again.
"Tone deaf? He's building out of private contributions; there's no tax money involved," Jennings said.
Phillip stepped in again to push back on Jennings.
"I think it's fair for Americans to be upset about tearing down the East Wing," Phillip said.
Strategist and commentator Ana Navarro voiced her concerns over the ongoing project and how Americans were struggling amid a rocky economy, as the administration has not addressed their hardships.
"I think it hastremendous historical value thatnobody even bothered to saveanywhere," Navarro said. "I am p---ed at whathe's done to Jackie Kennedy'sgarden — is it the thing I'mmost p---ed off about? No, Icare a lot more about the peoplethat have gotten killed in thestreets of Minneapolis, but Ithink it's pretty outrageousthat he is acting like a king."
Jennings appeared to be frustrated by the conversation and got fired up trying to talk over the other panelists.
"Should they leave it? We leave a hole in the ground," Jennings said.