Canadian television station CBS has removed Donald Trump's cameo in the Home Alone 2 movie, days after the US president confessed that appearing in the Christmas-themed classic was an honour for him. In the scene, Kevin McCallister, portrayed by Macaulay Culkin, gets lost in the Plaza Hotel, which in real life is owned by Trump, and decides to ask none other than the owner himself for directions to the lobby.
According to viewers, the brief episode was wholly edited out when CBC screened it. A representative of CBC said the move had no political motivations and the company simply needed time to air commercials. "As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format," the representative said.
Trump recently was asked about whether Home Alone is his favourite Christmas movie during a conference call with members of the military. The president said it was an honour to appear in the film, which was the biggest Christmas hit.
"A lot of people mention it every year, especially around Christmas. They say – especially young kids – they say, 'I just saw you in the movie.' They don't see me on television like they do in the movie. It turned out to be a very big hit, obviously. It's a big Christmas hit – one of the biggest. So it's an honour to be involved in something like that. You always like to see success."', Trump said.
In 2017 Oscar-winning actor Matt Damon claimed that the businessman-turned-politician appeared in the movie due to a contract clause, which demanded a part be written for Trump if a movie is shot in buildings owned by him. That same year another Hollywood actor Chris O'Donnell claimed that Trump appeared in the iconic movie Scent of a Woman, where O'Donnell starred with Al Pacino, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his part.
In an interview with the Late Night show host Conan O'Brien, the actor revealed that Trump and his the then-wife Marla Maples appeared in a scene getting out of a posh car that arrived at the Plaza Hotel, but then that cameo was cut out.