The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation drew some attention over the holidays after airing a version of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which noticeably cut a cameo appearance played by President Donald Trump.
In the film, Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) walks into the Plaza Hotel all by himself. He asks a passerby, played by Trump, “Excuse me, where’s the lobby?”
“Down the hall and to the left,” Trump responds.
The absence of the scene, which is far from a pivotal part of the plot, drew swift criticism from conservatives.
Trump himself took time out of his busy golf schedule in Florida to quip, “The movie will never be the same! (just kidding).”
He also, presumably jokingly, claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “doesn’t much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade.”
But, even as Fox News notes, CBC let it be known that politics had nothing to do with the edits, which were made to ensure there was time for commercial breaks.
“As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” CBC‘s head of public affairs Chuck Thompson said in a statement.