(Image: 20th Century Studios)
For modern audiences, the most memorable part of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" is likely Donald J. Trump's brief cameo opposite Macaulay Culkin. The scene's notoriety has only surged since Trump entered politics and was elected U.S. President. But now, Chris Columbus, the director of the first two "Home Alone" films, says he desperately wants to cut that scene.
(Image: 20th Century Studios)
In a recent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus confessed, "I really wish that could be cut. But if I did, I'd probably be deported. I'd be deemed unfit to live in America and would have to go back to my ancestral home in Italy or someplace." Columbus, an American-born director of Italian descent, made the comment as a satirical jab at Trump's deportation policies.
Two conflicting stories exist about how the cameo came to be. Columbus has claimed that the production wanted to film at New York's Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time. Trump allegedly demanded a cameo as a condition for granting them permission to use the location. However, Trump refuted this years ago, accusing Columbus of lying and insisting that the film's crew had begged him to make an appearance. Columbus's frustration with Trump's account is reportedly one of the primary reasons he now wants the scene removed.