Former US president Donald Trump has denied claims by director Chris Columbus that he bullied his way into a cameo appearance in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to assert that the film's production team were "begging me to make a cameo appearance."
Trump said of the film: "They rented the Plaza hotel in New York, which I owned at the time. I was very busy, and didn't want to do it. They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history!" He added that his cameo "helped make the movie a success."
Columbus, who directed both Home Alone films, told Business Insider in 2020 that Trump's cameo was a condition of filming at the Plaza Hotel. Columbus claimed Trump said: "The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie." Trump dismissed this as "nothing could be further from the truth."
Home Alone 2 grossed $359 million (£280 million) and was the third-highest grossing film of 1992. Trump's cameo has been a subject of debate, with some calling for its removal. In 2021, Macaulay Culkin said he was "sold" on the idea of digitally removing Trump from the film.
