Trump's 7-minute cameo in 'Home Alone-2' still haunts director: 'A curse'

'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' director Chris Columbus regrets Donald Trump's 7-second cameo in the movie, calls it an 'albatross' decades after its release

More than 30 years after its release, ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’ is back in the spotlight — this time not for its holiday nostalgia, but for a brief cameo that its director now regrets filming. Chris Columbus, who helmed the 1992 holiday sequel, is speaking out again about his regret over including US President Donald Trump’s now-infamous cameo in the film.

 

 

In a new interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus didn’t hold back. “It’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there. It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone,” he said.

 

 

Trump’s appearance in the film lasts just seven seconds, but it’s long been a topic of debate. In the scene, Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister, lost in New York’s Plaza Hotel, asks a man for directions. Trump, who then owned the hotel, famously responds: “Down the hall and to the left.”

 

Though brief, the cameo has become a sore spot for Columbus. “I can’t cut it. If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country,” he joked. “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.” 

This isn’t the first time Columbus has spoken out. In a 2023 interview with Business Insider, he accused Trump of forcing his way into the movie, claiming they were told a cameo was required in exchange for filming access to the iconic Plaza. “Trump did bully his way into the movie,” Columbus said. 

Still, the director admitted there was hesitation at first. “When we screened it for the first time, the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen. So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience’.”  Also Read: Trump's offer to illegal immigrants: Self-deport and get cash, flight

Trump defends cameo, director rebuts

 

Trump, on the other hand, fired back last year, denying the claim and insisting his appearance added value. “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?”

 

Columbus then responded: “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.”

 

‘Home Alone 2’—the follow-up to the 1990 holiday classic—features Kevin once again fending off the ‘Wet Bandits’, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, after being separated from his family during a holiday trip. Set against the backdrop of snowy New York City, the film also stars John Heard, Catherine O’Hara, Tim Curry, and Brenda Fricker.