The director of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York has described Donald Trump’s cameo as a “curse” and said he wishes he could cut it but fears Trump’s wrath.
Chris Columbus directed the box office hit in 1992, but he has one regret: Donald Trump’s seven-second cameo appearance.
Chris Columbus fears he would be deported by the Trump administration if he cut the U.S. president’s cameo in Home Alone 2
Image credits: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
“I can’t cut it,” he said. “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.”
The Christmas classic, still widely popular today, follows the young Kevin McAllister (played by Macaulay Culkin) as he navigates his way through New York alone after becoming separated from his family.
He once again encounters the Wet Bandits, who featured in the prequel Home Alone, after their escape from prison.
Trump appears in the film to give Culkin directions at the Plaza Hotel.
Image credits: Netflix
When the film was made back in 1992, Trump was a well-known real estate mogul who owned the famous New York Plaza and was less of a controversial figure.
In 2023, Trump posted on Truth Social claiming Columbus was “begging” him to make a cameo appearance, and that he initially didn’t want to do it.
The statement was in response to an interview Columbus had given to celebrate Home Alone’s 30th anniversary in 2020.
Columbus told Business Insider: “We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’ So we agreed to put him in the movie.”
Image credits: CrossingUNStyle
Three years later, Trump responded on Truth Social: “30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2.
“They rented the Plaza Hotel in New York, which I owned at the time. I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent.
“I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time.”
Trump insisted he was great for the movie, but Columbus said he was only included so they could film in the Plaza Hotel
Image credits: Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
“Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie,” Trump added.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. That cameo helped make the movie a success, but if they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years?
“Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why! Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
While Columbus didn’t respond at the time, he has now told the Chronicle he was not lying.
“Years later, it’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. What’s going through this guy’s mind?”
“He said I was lying. I’m not lying. He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie. But we were desperate to get the Plaza Hotel.
“But it’s there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
It is not the first time Trump has been snubbed from the film.
It is not the first time Trump has been snubbed from the film, with Macaulay Culkin among those suggesting he wanted the scene cut
Image credits: Netflix
In 2019, Canada’s public broadcaster came under fire for removing his cameo appearance when the film was aired.
They denied it was political maneuvering and said several edits, including Trump’s cameo, had been made in 2014 to save time.
Trump, who was president in 2019, responded on Twitter at the time: “I guess Justin T [Trudeau] doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade!”
And after the U.S. Capitol Riots, many called for him to be removed from the film. Culkin appeared to agree by replying “sold.”
Columbus’ comments on his fear of being deported come after Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s deportation from the U.S. to El Salvador.
Abrego Garcia illegally immigrated in 2011 at the age of 16, but he was granted an immigration court order preventing his deportation over fears of gang persecution.
Trump met with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Monday, and the pair said there was “no basis” to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat nearby in the meeting.
Abrego Garcia has been imprisoned in the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), a maximum security prison in El Salvador, without trial.
Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele have both said they do not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Image credits: Win McNamee/Getty Images
The notorious prison was opened in 2023 and does not allow visitation or outdoor time.
There are no educational programs or workshops, NPR reports, and Bukele’s justice minister said those held at CECOT would never return to their communities.
While the Trump administration admitted his deportation was an error, they now say he is affiliated with the MS-13 criminal gang, designated as a foreign terror organization.
Abrego Garcia’s lawyer says there is no proof that his client is affiliated with the gang.
Bukele has been a key ally to Trump in his deportation efforts and said in their Oval Office meeting that he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S.
Trump has floated the idea of a modern-day penal colony and plans to exile American citizens who commit serious crimes.
He repeated this view on Monday and said he would favor El Salvador as an exile location, stating in a social media video he wanted to send “homegrowns” there.
It is not clear how this would work legally, and several experts have criticized the plan since Trump announced it in January.
At the time, he said: “We’re going to get approval, hopefully, to get them the hell out of our country, along with others.
“Let them be brought to a foreign land and maintained by others for a very small fee, as opposed to be maintained in our jails for massive amounts of money, including the private prison companies that charge us a fortune.”
“Let them be brought out of our country and let them live there for a while. Let’s see how they like it,” he added.