Though "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" has unfortunately been overshadowed by Donald Trump's cameo appearance, the film's director, Chris Columbus, harbors a deep desire that this were not the case. In a revealing conversation with the San Francisco Chronicle, Columbus expressed his longing to excise the President's fleeting moment from the beloved 1992 Christmas classic. "It's become a curse, a specter I wish had never materialized," he lamented, further elaborating, "It's an albatross around my neck. I wish it had never come to pass."
Yet, despite his qualms concerning Trump's cameo, Columbus admitted to a hesitancy in tampering with the film's original integrity. "I dare not cut it," said the Italian-American director. "If I did, I might very well be exiled from this land. I'd be deemed unworthy of American soil, forced to retreat to Italy or some such place."
In a separate interview with Business Insider, Columbus was enlightened about the behind-the-scenes deal that granted him access to film at The Plaza Hotel in exchange for Trump's screen time. "When we premiered the film, an unusual scene unfolded: The audience erupted in cheers upon Trump's appearance. So, I instructed my editor, 'Keep him in. It's a moment the audience cherishes.'"
Columbus later refuted assertions that he had beseeched Trump to participate in the film. "He claims I begged him to be in it, but there's no universe where I'd ever plead with a non-actor to join a movie," he clarified to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We were merely desperate to secure The Plaza Hotel."
