In what might be one of the clearest signs of desperation from legacy media, the San Francisco Chronicle recently published an article dredging up a three-decade-old scene from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York — all for the purpose of landing another punch on former President Donald Trump. And of course, other outlets like Variety just had to run with it despite there being essentially nothing here to report on.
The so-called-story centers around director Chris Columbus revisiting President Donald Trump’s seven-second cameo in the 1992 holiday classic. According to Columbus, the brief scene — where Trump directs young Kevin McCallister to the hotel lobby — is an “albatross” and a “curse” he wishes he could cut. He also repeated a claim he made back in 2020: that Trump “bullied his way” into the movie by making his Plaza Hotel available only if he got a cameo. Of course, that’s the opposite of what President Trump claims today:
“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! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmas time. People call me whenever it is aired. Now, however, 30 years later, Columbus (what was his real name?) put out a statement that I bullied myself into the movie. Nothing could be further from the truth. That cameo helped make the movie a success … Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
— President Donald Trump
🚨 BREAKING: This is the scene from ‘“Home Alone 2” that director
Chris Columbus says he wants removed.President Trump’s scene lasted only 5 seconds, but director Columbus is having a liberal meltdown.
This was over 33 years ago. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/TaHyybDFGx
— RedpillGoku™ (@redpillgoku) April 15, 2025
This might be compelling clickbait if it were December, if Home Alone 2 were trending on streaming charts, or if Columbus were promoting a new holiday movie. But it’s April — months from Christmas — and there is no new Home Alone reboot or anniversary edition. Columbus is not on a press tour. Trump is not connected to any new Home Alone controversy. So what exactly is the story here?
The answer seems obvious: It’s not about the movie — it’s about Trump.
For legacy media outlets like Variety, The Washington Post, and Rolling Stone, Trump criticism isn’t just editorial direction — it’s a content pillar. The formula is simple: dredge up a decades-old anecdote, attach Trump’s name, and let the social media outrage machine do the rest. This story — built on a 30-year-old scene in a children’s movie — is not journalism, it’s theater.
‘Home Alone 2’ director wants Donald Trump’s cameo removed: ‘If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country’ https://t.co/UhJLXamsTR pic.twitter.com/llL5G8WAUo
— New York Post (@nypost) April 15, 2025
The absurdity is magnified when you look at how prominently the story was treated. Headlines calling Trump’s cameo “a curse” and framing Columbus’s comments as breaking news only reinforce the impression that media outlets are running out of new ammunition. It’s not enough to cover Trump’s policies, his trials, or his ongoing 2024 campaign. Now they’re going after his walk-on role in a Christmas movie that most viewers consider charming and harmless.
And make no mistake — this isn’t about film criticism or artistic integrity. If it were, Columbus might also have lamented including Rob Schneider’s cartoonish bellhop or the other dated elements of the film. But those don’t carry political baggage. Trump does. Which makes him useful.
Even Macaulay Culkin was mentioned in the article, referencing a tweet from years ago in which he jokingly approved of digitally removing Trump. The fact that Variety is still circling back to that social media moment in 2025 says everything. When all else fails, recycle outrage.
Donald Trump speaks at his inauguration in 2017 – YouTube, ABC News
The irony is that Trump’s cameo — like much of his early celebrity — was pure pop culture fluff. He appears, says “down the hall and to the left,” and exits. If anything, the scene captures a bygone era when Trump was a symbol of New York extravagance, not a political lightning rod.
But in 2025, with Trump now the presumptive Republican nominee for president and the election looming, the media’s appetite for Trump-negative content is insatiable. They can’t help themselves — even if it means running front-page stories about Christmas movies in the middle of spring.
At some point, the public notices the imbalance. When every week brings a new “scandal” about Trump’s cameo, diet, handshake, or necktie length, it becomes clear: the story isn’t about truth or relevance. It’s about narrative control.
And this time, the narrative is trying — awkwardly — to convince Americans that the villain of Home Alone 2 wasn’t the pair of bumbling burglars, but the guy giving directions in the hotel lobby.
Eventually they’ll add to Home Alone 1 that we’ve always been at war with Eastasia
Reminds me of Xerxes wanting to erase Leonidas.
Let the name of Trump be stricken from every book and tablet, stricken from all pylons and obelisks, stricken from every monument of Egypt. Let the name of Trump be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of men for all time.
Not quite Stage Ten TDS. Closer to…Stage Eight?
Maybe they shouldn’t put an unvoted communist against him in the election… But c’est la vie.