Dec. 8, 2025, 11:36 a.m. ET
- Before his presidency, Donald Trump made numerous cameo appearances in movies and TV shows, often playing himself.
- Trump appears in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” giving directions to Kevin McCallister in the Plaza Hotel, which he owned at the time.
With the holidays comes a trove of classic Christmas movies, some of which offer a portal into a different time, like President Donald Trump‘s cameo era.
“Home Alone” is easily one of the most popular movies for this time of year, showing Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) fighting off clumsy bandits after being left behind from the family vacation. In the sequel, the young boy accidentally gets routed to New York City as his family heads to Florida.
While in New York, he heads to the Plaza Hotel and runs into someone who now sticks out on a movie screen. But in the 1990s and early 2000s, Trump popped into movies and shows, often as himself, as a celebrity appearance.
Was Trump in ‘Home Alone 2’ with Macaulay Culkin?
Yes, in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” Kevin McCallister arrives at the Plaza Hotel. As he walks into the opulent, bustling space, he asks a man where the lobby is.
Trump has his back to the camera, but you can tell it’s him when he turns to tell little Kevin, “down the hall and to the left,” before giving the solo kid a puzzling look.
Trump purchased The Plaza in 1988, and the second movie was released in 1992. He sold the hotel in 1995.
“It’s become this curse. It’s become this thing that I wish it was not there,” the film’s director Chris Columbus told the San Francisco Chronicle of Trump’s cameo earlier this year. He also previously told Business Insider that Trump would only allow the movie to be filmed in the lobby (in addition to a fee) if he could be in the movie.
Trump said in a 2023 Truth Social post Columbus was “begging” him to be in it.
“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.” 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!”
Columbus said he wouldn’t “beg” a non-actor to be in a movie, but he was “desperate” for the Plaza, according to the Chronicle.
Watch: Trump’s cameo in ‘Home Alone 2’
What other movies, shows did Donald Trump appear in?
“Home Alone 2” was one of Trump’s earlier appearances on the movie and television screen, though it was far from the last. Many of his acting gigs came after his real estate rise and before his role hosting “The Apprentice.” Take a look back.
- “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” 1994 – Trump arrives at the Banks house with his second wife Marla Maples, and he jokes that he likes to keep a low profile.
- “Sex and the City,” 1999 – Trump is shown meeting with someone in a bar as Carrie’s voiceover says: “Samantha, a Cosmopolitan and Donald Trump. You just don’t get more New York than that.”
- “Zoolander,” 2001- Trump appears on the red carpet alongside first lady Melania Trump in one scene in the movie.
- “Two Weeks Notice,” 2002 – Trump plays himself in this rom-com, threatening to poach a lawyer from Hugh Grant’s character, who is also a developer.
- “Days of Our Lives” – In 2005, Trump again plays himself in a scene in this long-running soap opera. The scene and its creation were later parodied by “Saturday Night Live.“
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),Bluesky andTikTok.
