'Home Alone 2' director speaks on the curse of the Trump cameo and his deportation fears

Fears of deportation are rife in the US, and several creatives have been speaking out due to Donald Trump’s administration detaining travellers for weeks and detaining immigrants over their political views.

Legendary Canadian-US singer-songwriter Neil Young has expressed concern that he may be unable to return to the United States after criticising Trump, while actress Jasmine Mooney said in an interview that she was detained in “inhumane” conditions for nearly two weeks by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.  

Now, celebrated American director Chris Columbus (The Goonies, Mrs Doubtfire, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) has said he fears Trump’s administration could deport him if he cuts the president’s brief cameo from his film (and far superior sequel), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. 

The 1992 film, which sees eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) separated from his family and left to his own devices in New York City, has Kevin bump into Donald Trump in the Plaza Hotel and ask him for directions to the lobby.  

Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus said that the cameo has become “this curse.” 

“It’s become an albatross for me. I just wish it was gone.” 

“I can’t cut it,” Columbus said. “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country. I’ll be considered not fit to live in the United States, so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something” - referring to his Italian ancestry.

These fears have been galvanized following Trump’s administration recently deporting a man living in Maryland to a mega-prison in El Salvador – a move they have since claimed was an “administration error”. Indeed, the removal from the US of Abrego Garcia - who is married to an American citizen and has no criminal record – was ruled “illegal” by the US Supreme Court.

Back in 2020, Columbus claimed that Trump “bullied” his way into the cameo.  

In an interview with Insider at the time, Columbus revealed that he “wanted to shoot in the lobby” of the hotel for the film due to it being impossible to recreate the hustle and bustle of a real-life hotel entrance on a soundstage. Initially offering Trump a fee for use of the hotel, the future President instead said: “The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.” 

“People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen,” Columbus said of his eventual cameo on the movie. “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.” 

Conversely, Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023 that Columbus was “begging” him to appear in Home Alone 2.

“I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it,” Trump wrote. “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. That cameo helped make the movie a success … Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”

It’s worth noting that Trump’s Home Alone 2 cameo has been removed before. In 2019, Trump supporters complained after a cut of the film without the president aired on Canadian TV.

Trump responded at the time that the film “will never be the same” following the cut.

Additional sources • San Francisco Chronicle, Insider