Macaulay Culkin's Feelings About Donald Trump Are Crystal Clear

Before his presidency, Donald Trump made a barrage of cameos. From TV shows like "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Sex and the City" to movies such as "Zoolander," and a litany of commercials, including as a Pizza Hut spokesperson. While those may be remembered, it is his cameo in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" that has caused the most controversy over the years. In the 1992 film, an awestruck Kevin McCallister — played by Macaulay Culkin — enters The Plaza Hotel and asks Trump for directions to the lobby. Trump does a double take as a diminutive guest walks down the hall.

Reportedly, Trump — who owned the hotel from 1987 until 1995 — had a stipulation where he required a cameo in any project filmed at the hotel. "The deal was that if you wanted to shoot in one of his buildings, you had to write him in a part," Matt Damon explained to The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. According to Damon, it was standard practice to write the future president into a scene at The Plaza and then cut it. "But I guess in 'Home Alone 2' they left it in," he added.

During a Reddit AMA in 2018, Culkin was asked which "Home Alone" installment he preferred, and the actor said the original was his favorite for multiple reasons. "Also it had %100 less Trump," Culkin wrote. That was not the last time the actor would bash Trump. 

In January 2021, a tweet about Donald Trump's appearance in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" went viral and caught the attention of Macaulay Culkin. The tweet called for a petition to digitally swap out Trump's appearance in the film for a 40-year-old version of Macaulay Culkin. "Sold," Culkin replied. Minutes later, another user uploaded footage of the scene that featured Trump's cameo, but "The Art of the Deal" author had been crassly edited out. "Bravo," Culkin responded to show his approval.

As the tweets made the rounds, a swell of support began to grow regarding Trump's removal from the movie. That led to actor Kristy Swanson voicing her displeasure. The "Buffy the Vampire" star, who is a Trump supporter, took a strong stance. "If Cancel Culture is really going to have Donald J. Trump removed from the John Hughes movie 'Home Alone,' then in support of MY PRESIDENT, I'd like to have myself officially removed from the John Hughes' films, 'Pretty In Pink' and 'Ferris Buhler's Day Off,'" she tweeted in January 2021 (via Yahoo!). 

A year earlier, "Home Alone 2" director Chris Columbus explained why Trump's cameo was kept in the film. "People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen," Columbus recalled to Insider in 2020 while discussing a pre-screening of the Christmas classic. "But he did bully his way into the movie," the director added. One TV network decided to cut Trump's scene, which caused outrage from his supporters. 

In December 2019, Canada's CBC network aired a version of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," where the Donald Trump cameo was edited out entirely. After news of the edit started to spread, Donald Trump Jr. believed the edit choice was politically-minded. "Pathetic': Canada's CBC under fire when Trump's cameo in 'Home Alone 2' disappears from Christmas broadcast," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted at the time. Meanwhile, the then-president took the news that he had been edited out in stride. "The movie will never be the same! (just kidding)," Donald wrote.

As Trump supporters started to share outrage online, CBC's Head of Public Affairs, Chuck Thompson, took to X to clarify why the network removed Donald from their broadcast. "CBC's airing of 'Home Alone 2' was edited for time," Thompson tweeted. "The scene with Donald Trump was one of several that were cut from the movie ... These edits were done in 2014," he added.

Throughout all the controversy and backlash, one "Home Alone 2" actor has spoken fondly about their time working with the former president. Rob Schneider — who played The Plaza's plucky bellhop in the film — spoke about shooting scenes with Donald. "He was also nice enough to let us completely take over the Plaza," Schneider told AOL in 2020. "He seemed to be genial and definitely very happy to be in the movie. He was completely nice to us," the "Saturday Night Live" alum added.