Chris Columbus fears retaliation if he cuts Donald Trump's Home Alone 2 cameo

The director says the president's appearance in his film has "become an albatross for me."

By Mary Kate Carr  |  April 15, 2025 | 12:22pm
Screenshot: 20th Century Studios/YouTube
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Chris Columbus fears retaliation if he cuts Donald Trump's Home Alone 2 cameo
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Chris Columbus sounds pretty miffed that any part of his legacy is tainted by the presence of Donald Trump. Speaking with the San Francisco Chronicle, the born-and-raised United States citizen said he can’t cut Trump’s cameo from Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, because “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country,” he said. “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.”

Though Columbus is likely being sarcastic, the Trump administration has shown an alarming lack of respect for U.S. citizens and residents, to say nothing of a general disregard for the rule of law. Canadian network CBC cut out Trump’s part of Home Alone 2 in reruns, drawing Trump’s ire: “I guess [Justin Trudeau] doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade!” he posted on Twitter/X in 2019 (via Inside Edition). “The movie will never be the same! (just kidding).” Now in 2025, Trump’s trying to colonize their whole country. Correlation doesn’t imply causation, but it’s worth noting nevertheless.

Back in the day, Trump was obsessed with getting on camera (well, he’s still like that); Home Alone 2 director of photography Julio Macat described him as “a bug attracted to bright light.” Multiple productions that filmed in the Plaza were faced with not only a standard location fee, but a demand from its owner that he be allowed to cameo. Columbus previously went on record saying that’s the only reason for the Trump cameo, though the president of course disagreed. “I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it,” Trump posted on Truth Social in 2023. “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. 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!”

Unfortunately, even Columbus was forced to agree that viewers responded positively to the brief Trump appearance, at least in 1992. “We screened the film in Chicago, and when that moment came onscreen the audience went crazy,” he recalled for the Chronicle. “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.”

And so, though Columbus intended to cut the cameo, he kept it, and now “it’s become this curse,” he lamented. “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.”

Sadly, “It’s become an albatross for me,” he said. “I just wish it was gone.”

 
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