Home Alone 2 director quips cutting Trump cameo would get him 'sent out of the country'

Chris Columbus has said he wishes Donald Trump’s cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York never made it into the final cut - for one specific reason.

The sequel to the 1990 Christmas classic was released in 1992, with Macaulay Culkin reprising his role as Kevin McCallister.

This time, the resourceful youngster finds himself alone in New York City after boarding the wrong flight and checks into the luxurious Plaza Hotel — which was owned by Trump at the time.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, Kevin asks a man in the lobby for directions — and that man is Trump. While the moment is fleeting, it’s become a cinematic talking point, especially since Trump later became president.

Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus said the appearance has caused nothing but trouble since.

“I can’t cut it,” he said, before joking: “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.”

Columbus, who is of Italian descent, claimed years ago that Trump had insisted on being in the film as a condition for shooting at the Plaza.

Trump later denied this, alleging the filmmakers wanted him in the movie.

But Columbus is standing by his version.

He continued: “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.”

While some directors have since cut Trump’s cameos from re-releases or TV airings, Columbus said he originally left the scene in after a test audience erupted in laughter.

“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,” he admitted. “Years later, it’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish was not there.”

Trump previously called out Columbus on his social platform Truth Social, claiming he was the reason the movie was a success — despite the fact that it followed the hugely popular original film.

More than 30 years after his cameo, he penned; “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. 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.”

Questioning why the scene was left in, Trump claimed that he “helped make the movie a success”.

He added: “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!”