Donald Trump insists his cameo made 'Home Alone 2' a success: 'I was, and still am, great'
Donald Trump wants you to know that he’s no Grinch.
Sure, he once told a 7-year-old boy that believing in Santa is “marginal.” But the former president insists he was nothing but gracious on the set of “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” after the film’s director claimed that Trump forced his way into a cameo.
On Wednesday, Trump addressed his blink-and-you'll-miss-it role in the 1992 comedy in a lengthy post on Truth Social, his social-media platform.
“Director Chris Columbus, and others, were begging me to make a cameo appearance in ‘Home Alone 2,’ ” Trump wrote. “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!
“That little cameo took off like a rocket and the movie was a big success, and still is, especially around Christmastime,” he added. “People call me whenever it is aired.”
Columbus recently told Business Insider that in addition to a standard shooting fee, Trump would only let them use the Plaza if he could make a cameo. “He did bully his way into the movie,” Columbus said.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Trump wrote. “That cameo helped make the movie a success, but if they felt bullied, or didn’t want me, why did they put me in, and keep me there, for over 30 years? Because I was, and still am, great for the movie, that’s why! Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
“Home Alone 2” made a whopping $359 million at the worldwide box office. It’s impossible to ever truly know how much of that was fueled by Trump’s six-second, one-line cameo.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals: Every 'Home Alone' movie, definitively ranked
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump denies he 'bullied' his way into 'Home Alone 2' movie