The White House has hit back at “unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies”, accusing them of “clutching their pearls” as more details emerge about US President Donald Trump’s lavish ballroom plan.

It came as a storm erupted after a White House official admitted on Wednesday (local time) that the historic building’s entire East Wing will be demolished to make way for the 8400-square-metre ballroom.

“We can confirm that the entire East Wing is going to be modernised and renovated to, I guess, support the … ballroom project,” the official said.

Construction workers began tearing down the wing, which holds offices for the US first lady and other staff, on Monday. The official said the demolition process – which began even before formal final plans have been approved – is likely to be finished within two weeks.

“That’s music to my ears,” Trump said as noise from the heavy machinery spread through the White House.

The new ballroom will hold up to 900 people. Last week Trump said it would cost about $US250 million ($A385 million) – paid for by private donors. On Wednesday, he said the price was “about $300 million”.

The latest updates contradict his promise that the addition would not touch the existing East Wing structure.

“It won’t interfere with the current building,” Trump said in July. “It’ll be near it but not touching it — and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”

The wrecking of part of one of America’s most historic buildings has drawn criticism and sadness from Trump’s critics, including many Democrats.

“It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it,” former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton wrote on X.

Outside the White House, tourists and visitors were divided.

“It’s so funny, they are saying how Trump’s destroying everything. Go back through history, all the different presidents,” Joe Thompson told CBS News on Wednesday, pointing to other changes to the White House.

“He’s adding his touch, and it’s going to be beautiful when it’s done. Absolutely beautiful.”

But Mark, a retired doctor, said it was “disgraceful”.

“It’s a desecration, really. … I don’t know that anybody particularly wants a big ballroom. And even for those people who did want it, the promise was that the White House wasn’t going to be touched,” he said.

Even TV hosts are weighing in.

“We’re just nine months into Trump’s term, and he’s already going ‘Hulk smash’ on the White House. Last time, it took at least four years to bring a demo crew to the Capitol,” Stephen Colbert said, referring to the January 6 mob at the US Capitol.

The White House has dismissed all of the criticism as “manufactured outrage”.

“Unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House,” an official statement read.

“[It is] a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence.”

The statement continued with a lengthy list of details and photographs of previous White House renovations.

With the demolition well under way, the White House said on Tuesday it would submit plans for the ballroom construction for review by the National Capital Planning Commission, which oversees federal construction in Washington and neighbouring states.

The controversial ballroom is not Trump’s first big change to the White House since he returned back in January.

In August, he unveiled a changed Rose Garden. The historic space, near the West Wing and often used for presidential news conferences, events and historic moments, has been paved over. The administration has also added tables and umbrellas, where Trump has since hosted dinners at lunches at the “Rose Garden Club”.

“It’s a beautiful white stone and it’s a stone that’s the same colour as the White House itself,” he said in August of the Rose Garden revamp.

Even the Oval Office has been transformed since Trump’s return. Gold finishes are now liberally scattered throughout a room that was typically bare of such flourishes.

In April, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Wall Street Journal the new décor made it a “golden office for the golden age”.

Trump has also installed a new presidential portrait gallery along the West Wing Colonnade.

It was unveiled a month ago and features portraits of all the US’s presidents in gilded frames. Controversially, former president Joe Biden’s portrait is replaced with a picture of an autopen.

Trump has also installed two giant flagpoles on White House property.