Director Chris Columbus wants to ghost Donald Trump from “Home Alone 2,” but he’ll never be able to do it.
The 66-year-old filmmaker recently told the San Francisco Chronicle that if it were up to him, Trump’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in the 1992 holiday sequel would’ve been edited out yesterday.
“It’s become this curse,” he admitted. “It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.”
But removing the now-president’s seven-second walk-on is apparently off the table.
🔥🚨BREAKING: ‘Home Alone 2’ director Chris Columbus says he wants Donald Trump’s cameo removed despite him only being in the film for less than 5 seconds.
Columbus: “I just wish it was gone. I can’t cut it. If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country.” pic.twitter.com/h49d1EcLCG
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) April 15, 2025
“I can’t cut it,” Columbus continued. “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.”
That infamous cameo happens fast, but it’s certainly memorable. Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister is wandering the Plaza Hotel alone when he spots Trump and asks, “Where’s the lobby?” Trump, who owned the hotel at the time, replies, “Down the hall and to the left.”
That’s the entire scene, but for Columbus, it’s been haunting the movie like a Christmas ghost ever since.
‘home alone’ was released 34 years ago today.
pic.twitter.com/rWerTTj4rJ— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) November 15, 2024
According to Columbus, Trump basically strong-armed his way into the film. Back in a 2020 interview with Business Insider, the director said they needed to shoot inside the Plaza for authenticity.
“You just pay a fee and you are allowed to shoot in that location,” he explained. But when they approached Trump the director claims that there were strings attached.
“Trump said OK. We paid the fee,” Columbus recalled, “but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’”
The production reluctantly agreed, and during early screenings, the audience was charmed by his brief appearance.
“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.”
That version of the story didn’t sit well with Trump, who contested the director’s recollection of filming events.
In late 2023, Trump hit back on Truth Social, claiming Columbus was the one doing the begging.
Trump’s appearance in Home Alone will forever be iconic. pic.twitter.com/LyLkL55yUQ
— Community Notes & Violations (@CNviolations) December 26, 2024
“30 years ago (how time flies!), Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in Home Alone 2,” Trump wrote.
“I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent.”
Trump insisted that he did the production a favor by being on screen.
“That little cameo took off like a rocket,” he said. “The movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time. People call me whenever it is aired.”
Trump said that Columbus’ assertion that he “bullied” his way onto the film could not “be further from the truth.”
“If they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years?” he asked, before answering his own question: “Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why!”
He capped it off with a swipe at Columbus: “Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
Columbus responded to Trump’s claims during his discussion with the Chronicle.
“He said I was lying. I’m not lying,” the director stated. “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.”
Sold.
— Macaulay Culkin (@IncredibleCulk) January 13, 2021
Meanwhile, Macaulay Culkin has already cast his vote. In 2021, a fan tweeted: “Petition to digitally replace Trump in Home Alone 2 with 40-year-old Macaulay Culkin.” The former child actor’s response? One word: “Sold.”
Recently, when the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home that the original “Home Alone” was filmed at hit the market for a cool $5.25 million last year.
At the time, Culkin considering purchasing the iconic Winnetka, Illinois home and turning it into a “movie fun house” where visitors could sled down the stairs like he did in the film.
The “Home Alone” house in surburban Chicago is for sale for $5.3m (and is big enough for a half basketball court and home theatre).
Still makes you think what Kevin’s dad — who took 9 people to Paris for X-mas and wore a Burberry jacket with a wad of $100s — does for a living. pic.twitter.com/r5FicsltuK
— Trung Phan (@TrungTPhan) December 21, 2024
“I had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles,” he told the New York Times during a screening of the film in December.
The “Home Alone” house eventually sold for $5.5 million, an entire $250,000 over the initial asking price.