Home Alone 2: Lost in New York director Chris Columbus admitted that the movie would be better without Donald Trump’s cameo and wanted to cut the entire scene. But apparently, he can’t make that happen.
The 1992 Christmas classic brought back characters from the first Home Alone, including Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister, who briefly encountered Donald Trump at The Plaza Hotel.
Chris Columbus Says He Wants to Remove Donald Trump’s Cameo from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
If Chris Columbus could do it, he said he would release a Director’s Cut version of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York without Donald Trump, but he fears that might get him in trouble.
In his interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he said he wanted to remove Trump’s seven-second cameo from the movie, calling it a “curse” and an “albatross.”
“I just wish it was gone.” However, Columbus also revealed that he has no choice but to keep the scene.
“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,” he added.
Recent cases of individuals being deported from the United States after criticizing the Trump administration have reportedly increased and might have contributed to Columbus’ fear of being too vocal about his political views.
Neil Young, a Canadian-born singer-songwriter, shares the same concerns as the renowned director. On April 2, he admitted that he might not be allowed to return to the U.S. after years of speaking out against the country’s 47th president.
Another instance that raised concern among dual citizens in the so-called land of the free was when Abrego Garcia, who had married an American citizen in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador’s CECOT. He ended up locked in a mega-prison after being declared an “illegal immigrant.”
However, authorities later claimed that Garcia’s deportation was a mistake and the result of an “administration error.”
Columbus Reveals How Donald Trump Booked the Home Alone 2 Cameo Role
Donald Trump’s cameo was brief but became a well-known part of the Home Alone franchise, gaining even more attention after he won the 2016 election.
Trump supporters celebrated the scene and objected when his cameo was edited out of a Canadian broadcast in 2019. However, many also petitioned to have him removed from the movie entirely. Some even joked about replacing the former president with a 40-year-old Macaulay Culkin, with the actor even responding to the suggestion with a “Sold.”
Kevin McCallister accidentally boarding a flight to New York instead of heading to Miami led him to the Plaza Hotel — a property owned by Trump — where he had a brief encounter with the real estate mogul, who played himself in Home Alone 2.
Columbus revealed in an interview with Business Insider that Trump only allowed the production to film at the Plaza if he got a cameo. At the time, Columbus noticed audiences cheering when Trump appeared on screen, which led to the decision to leave the scene in.
“So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’”
However, Trump stated on Truth Social in 2023 that the filmmakers had “begged” him to appear, denying Columbus’ account that he had “bullied his way into the movie.”
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