'Home Alone 2' Donald Trump Scene Was Cut Out In 2014, CBC Says

It looks like a scene from “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” got lost in the edit room, but it wasn’t for political reasons, according to the CBC.

The public broadcaster denies political motivation in removing a scene featuring U.S. President Donald Trump from its broadcast of the movie, following social media controversy. The CBC noted that the scene had been edited out when they acquired the film in 2014.

“Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” is often re-aired around the holiday season, and it appears this year’s Christmas Eve broadcast on CBC is what drew controversy.

Many social media users called out the CBC for the edit, mistakenly assuming it was done this year in response to Trump’s impeachment.

Trump shared a Fox News story referencing the editing, claiming it was retribution from Trudeau around trade policy. Again, the edit was made in 2014, before either Trump or Trudeau were in office.

His son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a story on the issue from a right-wing outlet, calling the CBC “pathetic.”

In a statement to HuffPost Canada Thursday, the broadcaster confirmed the scene had been edited out, along with others, to meet commercial timing requirements when the CBC acquired the movie in 2014, long before Trump even announced his candidacy for president.

“As is often the case with feature films adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited for time. The scene with Donald Trump was one of several that were cut from the movie as none of them were integral to the plot,” according to a CBC spokesperson.

Trump formally launched his campaign for U.S. president on June 15, 2015. He was impeached by the House of Representatives earlier this month, becoming only the third president to be impeached.

The controversy around the edit comes days after Trump mentioned his role in the film during a Christmas Even teleconference with the U.S. military.

“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 the short scene, young Kevin McAllister — played by Macaulay Culkin — gets directions from Trump to the Plaza Hotel’s lobby. Trump was the hotel’s owner at the time of the film’s release. It has no bearing on the overarching plot, which involves Mcallister pranking and outrunning a group of bandits in New York City. Trump’s appearance lasts less than 10 seconds.

CBC did not say if there are any plans to reintroduce the scene into future broadcasts.

In related news, earlier this week someone altered the “Home Alone 2” Wikipedia page to note Trump’s impeachment.

That edit was quickly changed back.

UPDATE: This story has been updated with a Tweet from Donald Trump.

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