- Donald Trump’s cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was achieved through his quid pro quo style of working.
- The sequel maintains a similar plot and booby traps as the original film.
- Home Alone and Home Alone 2 can be found on Disney+.
While Home Alone 2: Lost in New York may not be as universally acclaimed as the original film, it is still considered a beloved Christmas classic by many. One standout moment in the sequel is a cameo by the future U.S. President, Donald Trump. Over three decades later, the movie’s director, Chris Columbus, revealed that Trump managed to “bully” his way into the film through his quid pro quo approach to business.
Trump’s brief appearance in the movie occurs when protagonist Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, encounters Trump in the lobby of The Plaza Hotel and asks for directions. Columbus explained in an interview with Business Insider that Trump allowed the production team to shoot at The Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time, only if he was included in the film. They agreed, and when test audiences cheered Trump’s scene, they decided to keep him in the final cut. Columbus admitted that Trump did “bully his way into the movie.”
Home Alone 2 follows a similar formula to the original but shifts the setting to New York City. Besides the new location, the film retains the same mix of Culkin as the lost protagonist, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern as the bad guys, and a series of creative, potentially deadly booby traps. Although critics were not particularly fond of the sequel, there is still something entertaining about watching the elaborate traps ensnare the antagonists. The film also marks the last appearance of the original cast in the franchise, with subsequent sequels failing to capture the magic of the first two movies. For those wanting to revisit Home Alone and Home Alone 2 for the holidays, both films are available on Disney+.