Chris Columbus wishes he could erase Donald Trump’s cameo from ‘Home Alone 2’
Opening up about how the inclusion of the property mogul turned president in the movie “haunts” him, director Chris Columbus has revealed he wishes he could erase Donald Trump’s cameo from ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’.
Chris Columbus wishes he could erase Donald Trump’s cameo from ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’.
The 65-year-old director says he looks back on the scene featuring the now hugely controversial U.S. president as a “curse” and an “albatross” around his neck.
In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he declared: “I just wish it was gone.”
The seven-second appearance by Trump, now 78, has long been a point of contention for fans and the filmmaker.
Chris added in his chat with the Chronicle he now feels powerless to remove it from the 1992 sequel to the hit Christmas film due to Trump now serving his second presidential term, sarcastically saying: “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country. I’ll be considered sort of not fit to live in the United States, so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something.”
‘Home Alone 2’ follows Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, as he accidentally boards a flight to New York City while his family flies to Miami for Christmas.
Once lost in Manhattan, Kevin checks into the Plaza Hotel – then owned by Trump – and briefly asks a man in the lobby for directions.
The man, Trump, gives a simple reply and walks off screen.
Despite its brevity, the moment has sparked decades of debate.
In a 2020 interview with Business Insider, Chris said the future president “bullied his way into the movie”. He said: “We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie’.”
When test audiences cheered at Trump’s appearance, Chris said he told his editor: “Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.”
That decision, he now says, has “haunted” him.
Over the years, many fans have called for the scene to be digitally removed, including Macaulay himself. In 2021, the now 43-year-old actor responded to a fan on X who proposed replacing Trump with an adult version of Kevin.
“Sold,” he wrote.
In 2023, Trump responded to the ongoing calls on his platform Truth Social.
He claimed Chris had “begged” him to be in the movie.
“I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it,” Trump wrote online.
He added: “They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket… now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Trump added: “Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
Chris’ directing career spans several decades. He is best known for directing ‘Home Alone’ (1990) and its sequel, as well as ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’, ‘Stepmom’, and the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films.
