By the same tortured lack of logic, people do not buy new cars - they must be called “replacement” cars.
Pure semantics. Amazing the emotional intensity they pour into denying obvious reality.
Literally, millions of tons of concrete and steel have been emplaced.
Especially when the existing barrier is some barbed wire. And what’s replacing it is 18 foot steel bollards.
To extend your analogy, it’s like saying that swapping a moped for an SUV is insignificant because they’re both “vehicles”.