Donald Trump didn't bully his way into the 1992 family comedy Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – or so he thinks.
In a resurfaced interview from 2020, Home Alone 2 director, Chris Columbus, told Business Insider that Trump requested to make a cameo in the film, as scenes would be shot in The Plaza Hotel, which the twice-impeached president formerly owned. But on his alt-tech social platform, Truth Social, Trump claimed the opposite, stating that the production crew for the Home Alone sequel was "begging" him to make a cameo appearance.
“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,” Trump wrote, per Variety. “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.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Trump continued about Columbus' claims. "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? 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!"
As Columbus' chat with BI recirculated ahead of Christmas this week, the filmmaker recalled how he wanted to shoot in the Plaza Hotel lobby, although he couldn't rebuild the space on a soundstage. Trump allowed the shoot to take place in the hotel, allegedly forcing himself into the movie.
"So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on screen," Columbus said. "So I said to my editor, ‘Leave him in the movie. It’s a moment for the audience.’ But he did bully his way into the movie."
Also backing Columbus' comments was Matt Damon, who in 2017, told The Hollywood Reporter that Trump was notorious for imposing himself onto production studios that featured his properties, although his scenes would later be cut.
"The deal was that if you wanted to shoot in one of his buildings, you had to write him in a part. [Director] Martin Brest had to write something in Scent of a Woman — and the whole crew was in on it," Damon said.
He continued, "You have to waste an hour of your day with a bullshit shot: Donald Trump walks in and Al Pacino’s like, “Hello, Mr. Trump!” — you had to call him by name — and then he exits. You waste a little time so that you can get the permit, and then you can cut the scene out. But I guess in Home Alone 2 they left it in."
In 2014, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation removed Trump's Home Alone 2 cameo altogether, one of several scenes that were "not integral to the plot," as the company needed to make room for commercial breaks. The film series' star, Macaulay Culkin would later support the idea of editing Trump out of Home Alone 2, to be replaced with an older version of Culkin.
