For Canadians watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on the CBC on Christmas Day, the timeless holiday movie may have felt a little different. Can’t put your finger on it? The broadcaster had removed one incredibly memorable scene from their most recent screening of the film; that of Donald J. Trump, then, businessman, now President of the United States. And it definitely didn’t go unnoticed.
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In the 1992 hit film, Kevin McCallister, (played by actor Macaulay Culkin), asks Trump for directions to the lobby, as he wanders aimlessly through the Plaza Hotel that was owned by Trump himself at the time.
“Down the hall and to the left,” the future president replies.
After the movie was aired on Wednesday, several complaints began surfacing on social media, along with an array of conspiracy theories that suggested the decision was political. The explanation, however, is very simple. The Canadian Broadcasting Network confirmed that the decision to remove that particular scene was to allow “for commercial time”, not because the broadcaster has anything against the President.
“As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” the CBC told ComicBook.com.
Taking to Twitter to elaborate on the matter, the CBC confirmed that the cuts, (yes, Trump’s scene was not the only one removed), to the movie were made in 2014, when the company first acquired the film and before Trump was elected president.
Although Trump is yet to comment, his supporters have been out in full swing, denouncing the CBC on Twitter and on conservative news program, Fox & Friends. Commentator Mark Steyn went as far to say that the CBC cut Trump because it didn’t want viewers to see that Trump is not actually evil.
“That’s who Donald Trump was before he was the new Hitler,” Steyn said.
“I think they’re terrified of these little things that will remind people just how deranged his opponents are.”
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. also spoke out publicly about the slight, tweeting a link to the story that led with the word “pathetic”. We’re sure we’ll be hearing from the President himself soon.
