‘Home Alone 2’ Trump Scene Controversy Is Addressed by Film’s Director Chris Columbus

Director Chris Columbus has referred to President Donald Trump‘s cameo in Home Alone 2 as a “curse,” adding that he’d love to cut the scene but fears the repercussions.

Speaking to the San Fransisco Chronicle, Columbus opened up about the infamous Trump scene. “I can’t cut it. 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 said, sarcastically referencing Trump’s mass deportation plans.

Trump’s cameo in the 1992 sequel of Home Alone is brief, as he appears in New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time, to give Macaulay Culkin‘s Kevin McCallister directions to the lobby.

“Years later, it’s become this curse… It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone,” Columbus added.

Columbus, who has also directed films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Bicentennial Man, and the first two Harry Potter movies, previously told Business Insider that Trump “bullied” his way into Home Alone 2.

“We paid the fee [to film at the hotel], but [Trump] 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,” the director told the outlet in 2020.

Director Chris Columbus; Sean Zanni/Getty Images for Hamptons International Film Festival

In 2023, Trump disputed Columbus’ claims, writing on Truth Social, “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. People call me whenever it is aired.”

He continued, “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. That cameo helped make the movie a success … Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”

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At the time, Columbus didn’t respond to Trump’s statement; however, he’s now told the SF Chronicle that he’d always intended to cut the Trump scene and never wanted him in the film. He only changed his mind after the audience reaction during the film’s first screening.

“We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came on screen the audience went crazy,” he recalled. “They cheered and they cheered and they thought it was hilarious. I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don’t, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious.”

“It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there,” Columbus continued. “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.”